Patrick Ewing vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Patrick Ewing, 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.

Patrick Ewing played 17 years in the NBA, 3 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. Patrick Ewing had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, 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
Patrick Ewing	17	14	1985-86 to 2001-02
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1985-86	1962-63
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	50	35.4	20.0	2.5	6.5	9.0	2.0	1.1	2.1	3.4	3.8	7.7	16.3	.474	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	6.1	.739
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		%
Patrick Ewing	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1986-87	1963-64
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	63	35.0	21.5	2.5	6.3	8.8	1.7	1.4	2.3	3.6	3.9	8.4	16.7	.503	0.0	0.1	.000	4.7	6.6	.713
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		%
Patrick Ewing	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1987-88	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	82	31.0	20.2	3.0	5.3	8.2	1.5	1.3	3.0	3.5	4.0	8.0	14.4	.555	0.0	0.0	.000	4.2	5.8	.716
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		%
Patrick Ewing	4	38.3	18.8	4.0	8.8	12.8	2.5	1.5	3.3	2.8	4.3	7.0	14.3	.491	0.0	0.3	.000	4.8	5.5	.864
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1988-89	1965-66
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	80	36.2	22.7	2.7	6.6	9.3	2.4	1.5	3.5	3.3	3.9	9.1	16.0	.567	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	6.1	.746
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		%
Patrick Ewing	9	37.8	19.9	2.6	7.4	10.0	2.2	1.0	2.0	1.7	3.9	7.8	16.0	.486	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.8	.750
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1989-90	1966-67
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	82	38.6	28.6	2.9	8.0	10.9	2.2	1.0	4.0	3.4	4.0	11.2	20.4	.551	0.0	0.0	.250	6.1	7.9	.775
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		%
Patrick Ewing	10	39.5	29.4	2.1	8.4	10.5	3.1	1.3	2.0	2.7	4.1	11.4	21.9	.521	0.1	0.2	.500	6.5	7.9	.823
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1990-91	1967-68
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	81	38.3	26.6	2.4	8.8	11.2	3.0	1.0	3.2	3.6	3.5	10.4	20.3	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	5.7	7.7	.745
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		%
Patrick Ewing	3	36.7	16.7	0.7	9.3	10.0	2.0	0.3	1.7	3.7	4.0	6.0	15.0	.400	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.0	.778
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1991-92	1968-69
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	82	38.4	24.0	2.8	8.5	11.2	1.9	1.1	3.0	2.5	3.4	9.7	18.6	.522	0.0	0.1	.167	4.6	6.2	.738
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		%
Patrick Ewing	12	40.2	22.7	2.8	8.3	11.1	2.3	0.6	2.6	1.9	4.1	9.1	19.9	.456	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	6.1	.740
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1992-93	1969-70
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Patrick Ewing	81	37.1	24.2	2.4	9.7	12.1	1.9	0.9	2.0	3.3	3.5	9.6	19.1	.503	0.0	0.1	.143	4.9	6.9	.719
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		%
Patrick Ewing	15	40.3	25.5	2.9	8.1	10.9	2.4	1.1	2.1	2.6	4.0	11.0	21.5	.512	0.1	0.1	1.000	3.4	5.3	.638
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1993-94	1970-71
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA 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		%
Patrick Ewing	79	37.6	24.5	2.8	8.4	11.2	2.3	1.1	2.7	3.3	3.5	9.4	19.0	.496	0.1	0.2	.286	5.6	7.4	.765
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		%
Patrick Ewing	25	41.3	21.9	3.5	8.2	11.7	2.6	1.3	3.0	3.3	3.8	8.4	19.2	.437	0.2	0.4	.364	4.9	6.5	.755
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1994-95	1971-72
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	79	37.0	23.9	2.0	9.0	11.0	2.7	0.9	2.0	3.2	3.4	9.2	18.4	.503	0.1	0.3	.286	5.3	7.1	.750
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		%
Patrick Ewing	11	36.3	19.0	1.5	8.1	9.6	2.5	0.5	2.3	2.7	4.6	7.3	14.2	.513	0.1	0.3	.333	4.4	6.4	.686
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1995-96	1972-73
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	76	36.6	22.5	2.1	8.5	10.6	2.1	0.9	2.4	2.9	3.3	8.9	19.2	.466	0.1	0.4	.143	4.6	6.1	.761
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		%
Patrick Ewing	8	41.0	21.5	1.4	9.3	10.6	1.9	0.1	3.1	3.8	2.8	8.1	17.1	.474	0.1	0.3	.500	5.1	7.9	.651
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1996-97	1973-74
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	78	37.0	22.4	2.2	8.4	10.7	2.0	0.9	2.4	3.4	3.2	8.4	17.2	.488	0.0	0.1	.222	5.6	7.5	.754
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		%
Patrick Ewing	9	39.7	22.6	2.9	7.7	10.6	1.9	0.3	2.4	3.0	3.3	9.8	18.6	.527	0.0	0.1	.000	3.0	4.7	.643
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1997-98	1974-75
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	26	32.6	20.8	2.3	7.9	10.2	1.1	0.6	2.2	3.0	2.8	7.8	15.5	.504	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	7.2	.720
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		%
Patrick Ewing	4	33.3	14.0	2.3	5.8	8.0	1.3	0.8	1.3	2.5	4.0	5.0	14.0	.357	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	6.8	.593
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1998-99	1975-76
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	38	34.2	17.3	1.9	8.0	9.9	1.1	0.8	2.6	2.6	2.8	6.5	14.9	.435	0.0	0.1	.000	4.3	6.1	.706
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		%
Patrick Ewing	11	31.5	13.1	1.3	7.5	8.7	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.9	3.2	5.3	12.3	.430	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.3	.778
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
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	1999-00	-
Team	New York Knicks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Patrick Ewing	62	32.8	15.0	2.3	7.5	9.7	0.9	0.6	1.4	2.3	3.2	5.8	12.5	.466	0.0	0.0	.000	3.3	4.6	.731
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	14	32.9	14.6	2.1	7.4	9.5	0.4	1.1	1.4	1.9	3.4	5.1	12.1	.418	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	6.4	.697
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	2000-01	-
Team	Seattle Supersonics	-
Honors & Awards
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		%
Patrick Ewing	79	26.7	9.6	1.6	5.8	7.4	1.2	0.7	1.2	1.9	2.9	3.7	8.7	.430	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	3.2	.685
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 17
	Patrick Ewing	Don Nelson
Season	2001-02	-
Team	Orlando Magic	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Magic 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		%
Patrick Ewing	65	13.9	6.0	0.9	3.1	4.0	0.5	0.3	0.7	1.0	2.0	2.3	5.1	.444	0.0	0.0	.000	1.4	2.1	.701
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Patrick Ewing	4	17.0	6.5	1.3	4.3	5.5	1.0	0.3	1.0	0.5	3.0	2.0	6.3	.320	0.0	0.3	.000	2.5	4.3	.588
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Patrick Ewing vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Patrick Ewing, 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

Season 17