Kevin McHale vs. Lonnie Shelton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lonnie Shelton and Kevin McHale, 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 / Games against each other

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 McHale played 13 years in the NBA, 3 more than Lonnie Shelton, who played 10. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while Lonnie Shelton had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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 McHale 13 13 1980-81 to 1992-93
Lonnie Shelton 10 6 1976-77 to 1985-86

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13

Rookie Season

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1980-811976-77
Team Boston CelticsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 82 20.1 10.0 1.9 2.5 4.4 0.7 0.3 1.8 1.3 3.2 4.3 8.1 .533 0.0 0.0 .000 1.3 1.9 .679
Lonnie Shelton 82 25.7 11.6 2.7 5.0 7.7 1.8 1.5 1.2 - 4.4 4.9 10.2 .476 - - - 1.9 2.7 .707
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 17 17.4 8.5 1.7 1.8 3.5 0.8 0.2 1.5 0.9 3.0 3.6 6.6 .540 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.1 .639
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1981-821977-78
Team Boston CelticsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsKnicks 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 %
Kevin McHale 82 28.4 13.6 2.3 4.5 6.8 1.1 0.4 2.3 1.7 3.2 5.7 10.7 .531 0.0 0.0 - 2.3 3.0 .754
Lonnie Shelton 82 28.3 14.9 2.5 4.6 7.1 2.4 1.3 1.4 2.8 4.3 6.2 12.0 .514 - - - 2.5 3.4 .736
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 12 28.7 16.2 3.4 3.7 7.1 0.9 0.4 2.3 1.3 3.7 6.4 11.2 .575 0.0 0.0 - 3.3 4.4 .755
Lonnie Shelton 6 25.2 11.0 3.0 4.3 7.3 2.8 0.3 0.8 2.3 4.8 5.0 9.3 .536 - - - 1.0 1.3 .750

Season 3

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1982-831978-79
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 82 28.6 14.1 2.6 4.1 6.7 1.3 0.4 2.3 1.9 2.9 5.9 10.9 .541 0.0 0.0 .000 2.4 3.3 .717
Lonnie Shelton 76 28.4 13.5 2.4 3.8 6.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 2.5 3.5 5.9 11.3 .519 - - - 1.7 2.5 .693
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 7 25.3 11.1 2.1 3.9 6.0 0.7 0.4 1.0 1.4 2.3 4.9 8.9 .548 0.0 0.1 .000 1.4 2.6 .556
Lonnie Shelton 17 33.3 12.9 3.6 4.8 8.4 2.0 1.1 1.1 1.8 4.7 5.9 12.3 .483 - - - 1.1 1.5 .692

Season 4

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1983-841979-80
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement Sixth Man of the Year-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 82 31.4 18.4 2.5 4.9 7.4 1.3 0.3 1.5 1.8 3.0 7.2 12.9 .556 0.0 0.0 .333 4.1 5.4 .765
Lonnie Shelton 76 29.5 13.6 2.6 5.0 7.7 1.9 1.2 1.0 2.2 3.8 5.6 10.6 .530 0.0 0.1 .200 2.4 3.2 .763
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 23 30.5 14.8 2.7 3.5 6.2 1.2 0.1 1.5 1.7 3.3 5.3 10.6 .504 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.3 .777
Lonnie Shelton 15 31.3 12.0 2.3 6.0 8.3 1.7 1.5 0.8 2.5 3.6 4.9 9.7 .507 0.0 0.1 .000 2.1 3.4 .627

Season 5

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1984-851980-81
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement Sixth Man of the Year-
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 79 33.6 19.8 2.9 6.1 9.0 1.8 0.4 1.5 2.0 3.0 7.7 13.4 .570 0.0 0.1 .000 4.5 5.9 .760
Lonnie Shelton 14 31.4 13.0 2.2 3.4 5.6 2.5 1.6 0.2 2.9 3.4 5.2 12.4 .420 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 3.9 .655
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 21 39.9 22.1 3.5 6.4 9.9 1.5 0.6 2.2 2.9 3.5 8.2 14.4 .568 0.0 0.0 - 5.8 7.1 .807
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1985-861981-82
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics 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 McHale 68 35.3 21.3 2.5 5.6 8.1 2.7 0.4 2.0 2.2 2.8 8.3 14.4 .574 0.0 0.0 - 4.8 6.2 .776
Lonnie Shelton 81 32.9 14.9 2.0 4.3 6.3 3.1 1.2 0.5 2.5 3.9 6.3 12.9 .486 0.0 0.1 .000 2.3 3.0 .783
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 18 39.7 24.9 2.8 5.8 8.6 2.7 0.4 2.4 2.7 3.6 9.3 16.1 .579 0.0 0.1 .000 6.2 7.8 .794
Lonnie Shelton 8 33.3 12.8 3.0 4.4 7.4 2.0 0.6 0.9 2.5 4.8 5.0 10.6 .471 0.0 0.0 - 2.8 4.0 .688

Season 7

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1986-871982-83
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsSupersonics 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 McHale 77 39.7 26.1 3.2 6.7 9.9 2.6 0.5 2.2 2.6 3.1 10.3 17.0 .604 0.0 0.1 .000 5.6 6.6 .836
Lonnie Shelton 82 31.4 12.4 1.9 4.1 6.0 2.9 0.9 0.9 2.1 3.8 5.3 11.2 .478 0.0 0.1 .167 1.7 2.3 .754
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 21 39.4 21.1 3.1 6.1 9.2 1.9 0.3 1.4 2.6 3.4 8.3 14.2 .584 0.0 0.0 - 4.6 6.0 .762
Lonnie Shelton 2 26.5 5.0 6.5 4.0 10.5 2.5 0.5 0.0 1.0 3.5 2.0 11.5 .174 0.0 1.5 .000 1.0 2.5 .400

Season 8

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1987-881983-84
Team Boston CelticsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 64 37.3 22.6 2.5 5.9 8.4 2.7 0.4 1.4 2.2 2.8 8.6 14.2 .604 0.0 0.0 - 5.4 6.8 .797
Lonnie Shelton 79 26.6 10.8 1.8 3.1 4.8 2.3 1.0 0.7 2.1 3.5 4.7 9.9 .476 0.0 0.1 .200 1.4 1.8 .764
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 17 42.1 25.4 3.2 4.8 8.0 2.4 0.4 1.8 2.3 3.8 9.3 15.4 .603 0.1 0.1 1.000 6.8 8.1 .839
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1988-891984-85
Team Boston CelticsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st RdCavaliers Lost East 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 McHale 78 36.9 22.5 2.9 5.3 8.2 2.2 0.3 1.2 2.5 2.9 8.5 15.5 .546 0.0 0.1 .000 5.6 6.8 .818
Lonnie Shelton 57 21.8 6.4 1.4 3.2 4.7 1.7 0.8 0.3 1.3 3.3 2.8 6.4 .435 0.0 0.1 .000 0.9 1.4 .662
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 3 38.3 19.0 2.3 5.7 8.0 3.0 0.3 0.7 1.3 4.3 6.7 13.7 .488 0.0 0.0 - 5.7 7.7 .739
Lonnie Shelton 4 26.5 11.5 1.5 4.0 5.5 1.0 0.5 0.3 1.5 5.0 4.8 8.5 .559 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.5 .800

Season 10

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1989-901985-86
Team Boston CelticsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 82 33.2 20.9 2.5 5.8 8.3 2.1 0.4 1.9 2.2 3.0 7.9 14.4 .549 0.3 0.8 .333 4.8 5.4 .893
Lonnie Shelton 44 15.5 4.5 0.9 2.4 3.3 1.4 0.5 0.1 1.1 2.9 2.1 4.3 .489 0.0 0.0 .000 0.3 0.4 .875
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 5 38.4 22.0 1.6 6.2 7.8 2.6 0.4 2.0 2.8 3.4 8.4 13.8 .609 0.2 0.6 .333 5.0 5.8 .862
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1990-91-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards Achievement 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 %
Kevin McHale 68 30.4 18.4 2.1 4.9 7.1 1.9 0.4 2.1 2.1 2.9 7.4 13.4 .553 0.2 0.5 .405 3.4 4.0 .829
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 11 34.2 20.7 1.6 4.9 6.5 1.8 0.5 1.3 1.3 3.8 7.1 13.5 .527 0.5 1.0 .545 6.0 7.3 .825
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1991-92-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
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 %
Kevin McHale 56 25.0 13.9 2.1 3.8 5.9 1.5 0.2 1.1 1.5 2.0 5.8 11.3 .509 0.0 0.2 .000 2.4 2.9 .822
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 10 30.6 16.5 2.1 4.6 6.7 1.3 0.5 0.5 0.9 3.4 6.5 12.6 .516 0.0 0.1 .000 3.5 4.4 .795
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------

Season 13

Kevin McHale Lonnie Shelton
Season 1992-93-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East 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 McHale 71 23.3 10.7 1.3 3.7 5.0 1.0 0.2 0.8 1.3 1.8 4.2 9.1 .459 0.0 0.3 .111 2.3 2.7 .841
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kevin McHale 4 28.3 19.0 2.3 5.0 7.3 0.8 0.5 1.8 1.3 1.5 8.0 13.8 .582 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.5 .857
Lonnie Shelton ------- --- ----------