Kevin Durant vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Kevin Durant, 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.

Kevin Durant played 16 years in the NBA, 2 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. Kevin Durant had the first of his seasons in 2007-08, 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
Kevin Durant	16	13	2007-08 to 2023-24
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

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


Rookie Season
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2007-08	1962-63
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
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		%
Kevin Durant	80	34.6	20.3	0.9	3.5	4.4	2.4	1.0	0.9	2.9	1.5	7.3	17.1	.430	0.7	2.6	.288	4.9	5.6	.873
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		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2008-09	1963-64
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Durant	74	39.0	25.3	1.0	5.5	6.5	2.8	1.3	0.7	3.0	1.8	8.9	18.8	.476	1.3	3.1	.422	6.1	7.1	.863
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		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2009-10	1964-65
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Durant	82	39.5	30.1	1.3	6.3	7.6	2.8	1.4	1.0	3.3	2.1	9.7	20.3	.476	1.6	4.3	.365	9.2	10.2	.900
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		%
Kevin Durant	6	38.5	25.0	1.3	6.3	7.7	2.3	0.5	1.3	3.7	2.8	7.2	20.5	.350	1.7	5.8	.286	9.0	10.3	.871
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2010-11	1965-66
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder 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		%
Kevin Durant	78	38.9	27.7	0.7	6.1	6.8	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.8	2.0	9.1	19.7	.462	1.9	5.3	.350	7.6	8.7	.880
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		%
Kevin Durant	17	42.5	28.6	1.1	7.1	8.2	2.8	0.9	1.1	2.5	3.1	9.1	20.3	.449	2.2	6.4	.339	8.2	9.8	.838
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2011-12	1966-67
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA 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		%
Kevin Durant	66	38.6	28.0	0.6	7.4	8.0	3.5	1.3	1.2	3.8	2.0	9.7	19.7	.496	2.0	5.2	.387	6.5	7.6	.860
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		%
Kevin Durant	20	41.9	28.5	0.7	6.8	7.4	3.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.6	9.9	19.2	.517	2.1	5.5	.373	6.7	7.7	.864
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2012-13	1967-68
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	28.1	0.6	7.3	7.9	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.5	1.8	9.0	17.7	.510	1.7	4.1	.416	8.4	9.3	.905
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		%
Kevin Durant	11	44.1	30.8	0.6	8.4	9.0	6.3	1.3	1.1	3.9	2.4	10.2	22.4	.455	2.0	6.4	.314	8.5	10.2	.830
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2013-14	1968-69
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	32.0	0.7	6.7	7.4	5.5	1.3	0.7	3.5	2.1	10.5	20.8	.503	2.4	6.1	.391	8.7	9.9	.873
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		%
Kevin Durant	19	42.9	29.6	1.3	7.6	8.9	3.9	1.0	1.3	3.8	2.2	10.2	22.2	.460	2.3	6.6	.344	6.9	8.6	.810
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2014-15	1969-70
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	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		%
Kevin Durant	27	33.8	25.4	0.6	6.0	6.6	4.1	0.9	0.9	2.7	1.5	8.8	17.3	.510	2.4	5.9	.403	5.4	6.3	.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		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2015-16	1970-71
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	72	35.8	28.2	0.6	7.6	8.2	5.0	1.0	1.2	3.5	1.9	9.7	19.2	.505	2.6	6.7	.387	6.2	6.9	.898
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		%
Kevin Durant	18	40.3	28.4	0.7	6.4	7.1	3.3	1.0	1.0	3.6	2.1	9.7	22.6	.430	1.7	6.1	.282	7.2	8.1	.890
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2016-17	1971-72
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kevin Durant	62	33.4	25.1	0.6	7.6	8.3	4.8	1.1	1.6	2.2	1.9	8.9	16.5	.537	1.9	5.0	.375	5.4	6.2	.875
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		%
Kevin Durant	15	35.5	28.5	1.1	6.9	7.9	4.3	0.8	1.3	2.5	2.6	9.9	17.9	.556	2.5	5.7	.442	6.1	6.9	.893
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2017-18	1972-73
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kevin Durant	68	34.2	26.4	0.5	6.4	6.8	5.4	0.7	1.8	3.0	2.0	9.3	18.0	.516	2.5	6.1	.419	5.3	5.9	.889
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		%
Kevin Durant	21	38.4	29.0	0.6	7.1	7.8	4.7	0.7	1.2	2.4	2.0	10.1	20.7	.487	2.2	6.6	.341	6.5	7.2	.901
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2018-19	1973-74
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	78	34.6	26.0	0.4	5.9	6.4	5.9	0.7	1.1	2.9	2.0	9.2	17.7	.521	1.8	5.0	.353	5.7	6.5	.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		%
Kevin Durant	12	36.8	32.3	0.1	4.8	4.9	4.5	1.1	1.0	3.6	3.2	10.4	20.3	.514	2.9	6.7	.438	8.5	9.4	.903
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

Note: Kevin Durant didn't play in 2019-20.


Season 13
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2020-21	1974-75
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Kevin Durant	35	33.1	26.9	0.4	6.7	7.1	5.6	0.7	1.3	3.4	2.0	9.3	17.2	.537	2.4	5.4	.450	6.0	6.8	.882
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		%
Kevin Durant	12	40.4	34.3	0.4	8.8	9.3	4.4	1.5	1.6	3.5	2.6	12.1	23.5	.514	2.8	6.8	.402	7.3	8.4	.871
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2021-22	1975-76
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	55	37.2	29.9	0.5	6.9	7.4	6.4	0.9	0.9	3.5	2.1	10.5	20.3	.518	2.1	5.5	.383	6.8	7.4	.910
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		%
Kevin Durant	4	44.0	26.3	0.5	5.3	5.8	6.3	1.0	0.3	5.3	3.8	8.0	20.8	.386	1.8	5.3	.333	8.5	9.5	.895
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
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2022-23	-
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	47	35.6	29.1	0.4	6.3	6.7	5.0	0.7	1.4	3.3	2.1	10.3	18.3	.560	2.0	4.9	.404	6.5	7.1	.919
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	11	42.4	29.0	0.6	8.1	8.7	5.5	0.8	1.4	3.5	2.6	9.7	20.4	.478	1.5	4.6	.333	8.0	8.7	.917
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Kevin Durant	Don Nelson
Season	2023-24	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards	Cup All-Tournament Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	75	37.2	27.1	0.5	6.1	6.6	5.0	0.9	1.2	3.3	1.8	10.0	19.1	.523	2.2	5.4	.413	4.8	5.6	.856
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	4	42.0	26.8	0.3	6.3	6.5	3.3	0.5	1.5	2.5	2.0	9.3	16.8	.552	1.3	3.0	.417	7.0	8.5	.824
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Kevin Durant vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Kevin Durant, 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