John Havlicek vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and John Havlicek, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

John Havlicek played 16 years in the NBA, 2 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. John Havlicek had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Don Nelson had his rookie season in 1962-63. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
John Havlicek	16	13	1962-63 to 1977-78
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1962-63	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	27.5	14.3	-	-	6.7	2.2	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.6	.445	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.728
Don Nelson	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	11	23.1	11.8	-	-	4.8	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	5.1	11.4	.448	-	-	-	1.6	2.5	.667
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1963-64	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	32.3	19.9	-	-	5.4	3.0	-	-	-	2.8	8.0	19.2	.417	-	-	-	3.9	5.3	.746
Don Nelson	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	10	28.9	15.7	-	-	4.3	3.2	-	-	-	2.6	6.1	15.9	.384	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.795
Don Nelson	5	11.2	3.4	-	-	2.6	0.4	-	-	-	2.2	1.4	2.6	.538	-	-	-	0.6	0.6	1.000


Season 3
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1964-65	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	75	28.9	18.3	-	-	4.9	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	18.9	.401	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.744
Don Nelson	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	12	33.8	18.5	-	-	7.3	2.4	-	-	-	3.7	7.3	20.8	.352	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.836
Don Nelson	11	19.3	6.1	-	-	5.4	1.7	-	-	-	2.8	2.2	4.8	.453	-	-	-	1.7	2.3	.760


Season 4
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1965-66	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	71	30.6	18.8	-	-	6.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.5	18.7	.399	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.785
Don Nelson	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	17	42.3	23.6	-	-	9.1	4.1	-	-	-	4.1	9.0	22.0	.409	-	-	-	5.6	6.6	.841
Don Nelson	17	18.6	8.4	-	-	5.0	0.8	-	-	-	2.9	2.9	6.9	.424	-	-	-	2.5	3.1	.808


Season 5
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1966-67	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	32.1	21.4	-	-	6.6	3.4	-	-	-	2.6	8.4	19.0	.444	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.828
Don Nelson	79	15.2	7.5	-	-	3.7	0.8	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	6.4	.446	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.742

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	9	36.7	27.4	-	-	8.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.6	.448	-	-	-	6.3	7.9	.803
Don Nelson	9	15.8	7.1	-	-	4.7	1.0	-	-	-	1.3	3.0	6.6	.458	-	-	-	1.1	1.9	.588


Season 6
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1967-68	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	35.6	20.7	-	-	6.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.9	8.1	18.9	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.812
Don Nelson	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	19	45.4	25.9	-	-	8.6	7.5	-	-	-	3.5	9.7	21.4	.452	-	-	-	6.6	7.9	.828
Don Nelson	19	24.6	12.5	-	-	7.5	1.7	-	-	-	2.6	4.8	9.2	.520	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	.743


Season 7
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1968-69	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	38.7	21.6	-	-	7.0	5.4	-	-	-	3.0	8.4	20.8	.405	-	-	-	4.7	6.0	.780
Don Nelson	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	18	47.2	25.4	-	-	9.9	5.6	-	-	-	3.2	9.4	21.2	.445	-	-	-	6.6	7.7	.855
Don Nelson	18	19.3	12.4	-	-	4.6	1.2	-	-	-	2.8	4.8	9.3	.518	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.833


Season 8
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1969-70	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	41.6	24.2	-	-	7.8	6.8	-	-	-	2.6	9.1	19.6	.464	-	-	-	6.0	7.1	.844
Don Nelson	82	27.1	15.4	-	-	7.3	1.8	-	-	-	2.9	5.6	11.2	.501	-	-	-	4.1	5.3	.775

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1970-71	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	45.4	28.9	-	-	9.0	7.5	-	-	-	2.5	11.0	24.5	.450	-	-	-	6.8	8.4	.818
Don Nelson	82	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1971-72	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	45.1	27.5	-	-	8.2	7.5	-	-	-	2.2	10.9	23.9	.458	-	-	-	5.6	6.7	.834
Don Nelson	82	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	11	47.0	27.4	-	-	8.4	6.4	-	-	-	3.2	9.8	21.4	.460	-	-	-	7.7	9.0	.859
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854


Season 11
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1972-73	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	42.1	23.8	-	-	7.1	6.6	-	-	-	2.4	9.6	21.3	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.858
Don Nelson	72	19.8	10.8	-	-	4.4	1.4	-	-	-	2.2	4.3	9.0	.476	-	-	-	2.2	2.6	.846

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	12	39.9	23.8	-	-	5.2	5.4	-	-	-	2.0	9.3	19.6	.477	-	-	-	5.1	6.2	.824
Don Nelson	13	23.3	11.0	-	-	2.9	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	3.6	7.8	.465	-	-	-	3.8	4.3	.875


Season 12
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1973-74	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	76	40.7	22.6	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.9	1.3	0.4	-	2.6	9.0	19.8	.456	-	-	-	4.6	5.5	.832
Don Nelson	82	21.3	11.5	1.1	3.1	4.2	2.0	0.2	0.2	-	2.3	4.4	8.7	.508	-	-	-	2.6	3.3	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	18	45.1	27.1	1.6	4.9	6.4	6.0	1.3	0.3	-	2.4	11.1	22.8	.484	-	-	-	4.9	5.6	.881
Don Nelson	18	25.9	11.4	1.4	4.0	5.4	1.9	0.4	0.2	-	3.0	4.6	9.1	.500	-	-	-	2.3	2.9	.774


Season 13
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1974-75	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	38.2	19.2	1.9	4.0	5.9	5.3	1.3	0.2	-	2.8	7.8	17.2	.455	-	-	-	3.5	4.0	.870
Don Nelson	79	26.0	14.0	1.6	4.3	5.9	2.3	0.4	0.2	-	3.0	5.4	9.9	.539	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.827

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	11	42.2	21.1	1.6	3.5	5.2	4.6	1.5	0.1	-	3.5	7.5	17.5	.432	-	-	-	6.0	6.9	.868
Don Nelson	11	24.9	15.4	1.6	2.5	4.1	2.4	0.2	0.2	-	3.3	6.0	10.6	.564	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.902


Season 14
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1975-76	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	76	34.2	17.0	1.5	2.6	4.1	3.7	1.3	0.4	-	2.7	6.6	14.8	.450	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.844
Don Nelson	75	12.6	6.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	1.0	0.2	0.1	-	1.5	2.3	5.1	.462	-	-	-	1.7	2.1	.789

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	15	33.7	13.2	1.2	2.5	3.7	3.4	0.8	0.3	-	2.1	5.3	12.0	.444	-	-	-	2.5	3.1	.809
Don Nelson	18	17.5	9.1	0.9	2.0	2.9	0.9	0.2	0.1	-	2.6	2.9	6.0	.481	-	-	-	3.3	3.8	.870


Season 15
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1976-77	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	79	36.9	17.7	1.4	3.5	4.8	5.1	1.1	0.2	-	2.6	7.3	16.2	.452	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	.816
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	9	41.7	18.3	1.7	3.8	5.4	6.9	0.9	0.4	-	3.7	6.9	18.6	.371	-	-	-	4.6	5.6	.820
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	John Havlicek	Don Nelson
Season	1977-78	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	34.1	16.1	1.1	2.9	4.0	4.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	2.3	6.7	14.8	.449	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.855
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

John Havlicek vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and John Havlicek, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16