Kawhi Leonard vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Kawhi Leonard, 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.

Kawhi Leonard played 12 years in the NBA, 2 less than Don Nelson, who played 14. Kawhi Leonard had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, 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
Kawhi Leonard	12	11	2011-12 to 2023-24
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


Rookie Season
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2011-12	1962-63
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	64	24.0	7.9	1.6	3.5	5.1	1.1	1.3	0.4	0.7	1.4	3.1	6.3	.493	0.6	1.7	.376	1.1	1.4	.773
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	14	27.1	8.6	1.3	4.6	5.9	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.9	1.6	3.2	6.4	.500	1.3	2.9	.450	0.9	1.1	.813
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2012-13	1963-64
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	58	31.2	11.9	1.1	4.9	6.0	1.6	1.7	0.6	1.1	1.7	4.5	9.1	.494	1.1	3.0	.374	1.8	2.2	.825
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	21	36.9	13.5	2.4	6.7	9.0	1.0	1.8	0.5	1.1	1.9	5.5	10.0	.545	1.1	2.8	.390	1.5	2.3	.633
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2013-14	1964-65
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	66	29.1	12.8	1.2	5.1	6.2	2.0	1.7	0.8	1.2	1.9	5.1	9.8	.522	1.0	2.8	.379	1.5	1.9	.802
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	23	32.0	14.3	1.3	5.4	6.7	1.7	1.7	0.6	1.3	2.9	5.3	10.4	.510	1.3	3.2	.419	2.3	3.1	.736
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2014-15	1965-66
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	64	31.8	16.5	1.3	5.9	7.2	2.5	2.3	0.8	1.5	2.0	6.2	12.8	.479	1.0	3.0	.349	3.2	3.9	.802
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	7	35.7	20.3	1.9	5.6	7.4	2.6	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.6	7.4	15.6	.477	1.6	3.7	.423	3.9	5.0	.771
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2015-16	1966-67
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	72	33.1	21.2	1.3	5.5	6.8	2.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	1.8	7.7	15.1	.506	1.8	4.0	.443	4.1	4.6	.874
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	10	33.9	22.5	1.4	4.9	6.3	2.8	2.6	1.4	1.6	2.1	8.3	16.6	.500	1.7	3.9	.436	4.2	5.1	.824
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2016-17	1967-68
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	74	33.4	25.5	1.1	4.7	5.8	3.5	1.8	0.7	2.1	1.6	8.6	17.7	.485	2.0	5.2	.380	6.3	7.2	.880
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	12	35.8	27.7	1.6	6.2	7.8	4.6	1.7	0.5	2.2	1.8	8.8	16.8	.525	2.1	4.6	.455	7.9	8.5	.931
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2017-18	1968-69
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	9	23.3	16.2	0.7	4.0	4.7	2.3	2.0	1.0	1.8	1.0	5.8	12.3	.468	1.2	3.9	.314	3.4	4.2	.816
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2018-19	1969-70
Team	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	60	34.0	26.6	1.3	6.0	7.3	3.3	1.8	0.4	2.0	1.5	9.3	18.8	.496	1.9	5.0	.371	6.1	7.1	.854
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	24	39.1	30.5	2.3	6.8	9.1	3.9	1.7	0.7	3.1	2.3	10.1	20.7	.490	2.3	6.0	.379	8.0	9.0	.884
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2019-20	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	57	32.4	27.1	0.9	6.1	7.1	4.9	1.8	0.6	2.6	2.0	9.3	19.9	.470	2.2	5.7	.378	6.2	7.1	.886
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	13	39.3	28.2	1.8	7.5	9.3	5.5	2.3	0.8	2.5	2.2	10.1	20.6	.489	1.8	5.6	.329	6.2	7.2	.862
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2020-21	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West 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		%
Kawhi Leonard	52	34.1	24.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	5.2	1.6	0.4	2.0	1.6	8.9	17.5	.512	1.9	4.9	.398	5.0	5.7	.885
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	11	39.3	30.4	2.0	5.7	7.7	4.4	2.1	0.8	2.2	2.6	11.1	19.4	.573	2.2	5.5	.393	6.0	6.8	.880
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854

Note: Kawhi Leonard didn't play in 2021-22.


Season 11
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2022-23	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	52	33.6	23.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	3.9	1.4	0.5	1.7	1.6	8.6	16.8	.512	2.0	4.8	.416	4.7	5.4	.871
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	2	40.0	34.5	1.5	5.0	6.5	6.0	2.0	0.5	3.0	2.5	12.0	22.0	.545	3.0	5.0	.600	7.5	8.5	.882
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	2023-24	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	68	34.3	23.7	1.2	4.9	6.1	3.6	1.6	0.9	1.8	1.4	9.0	17.1	.525	2.1	4.9	.417	3.7	4.2	.885
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	2	29.5	12.0	1.5	6.5	8.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	2.0	1.5	5.5	12.0	.458	0.0	2.5	.000	1.0	1.5	.667
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	-	1974-75
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kawhi Leonard	Don Nelson
Season	-	1975-76
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Kawhi Leonard vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Kawhi Leonard, 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