Pau Gasol vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Pau Gasol, 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.

Pau Gasol played 18 years in the NBA, 4 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. Pau Gasol had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, 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
Pau Gasol	18	12	2001-02 to 2018-19
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18


Rookie Season
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2001-02	1962-63
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.7	17.6	2.9	6.0	8.9	2.7	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	6.7	13.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.1	5.8	.709
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		%
Pau Gasol	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2002-03	1963-64
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.0	19.0	2.3	6.4	8.8	2.8	0.4	1.8	2.6	2.7	6.9	13.6	.510	0.0	0.1	.100	5.1	6.9	.736
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		%
Pau Gasol	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2003-04	1964-65
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Grizzlies 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		%
Pau Gasol	78	31.5	17.7	2.6	5.1	7.7	2.5	0.6	1.7	2.4	2.4	6.5	13.4	.482	0.1	0.2	.267	4.7	6.6	.714
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.5	18.5	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.5	1.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	7.0	12.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	5.0	.900
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2004-05	1965-66
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Grizzlies 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		%
Pau Gasol	56	32.0	17.8	2.3	5.0	7.3	2.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	2.6	6.4	12.4	.514	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.6	.768
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.0	21.3	3.8	3.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	1.8	1.8	3.0	9.8	20.0	.488	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.5	3.0	.500
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2005-06	1966-67
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	80	39.2	20.4	2.4	6.5	8.9	4.6	0.6	1.9	2.9	2.3	7.5	14.9	.503	0.0	0.2	.250	5.3	7.7	.689
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	39.5	20.3	1.0	5.8	6.8	3.0	0.5	1.3	2.8	2.8	7.3	16.8	.433	0.0	0.3	.000	5.8	7.5	.767
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2006-07	1967-68
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	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		%
Pau Gasol	59	36.2	20.8	2.5	7.3	9.8	3.4	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.3	7.8	14.5	.538	0.1	0.2	.273	5.1	6.8	.748
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		%
Pau Gasol	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2007-08	1968-69
Team	Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Pau Gasol	66	35.6	18.9	2.3	6.0	8.4	3.2	0.5	1.5	1.9	2.1	7.2	13.5	.534	0.1	0.2	.250	4.4	5.5	.807
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		%
Pau Gasol	21	39.8	16.9	2.6	6.7	9.3	4.0	0.5	1.9	2.1	2.9	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.692
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2008-09	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Pau Gasol	81	37.0	18.9	3.2	6.4	9.6	3.5	0.6	1.0	1.9	2.1	7.3	12.9	.567	0.0	0.0	.500	4.2	5.4	.781
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		%
Pau Gasol	23	40.5	18.3	3.0	7.9	10.8	2.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	12.0	.580	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.1	.714
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2009-10	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Pau Gasol	65	37.0	18.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	3.4	0.6	1.7	2.2	2.3	7.0	13.0	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	5.6	.790
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		%
Pau Gasol	23	39.7	19.6	4.0	7.1	11.1	3.5	0.4	2.1	1.9	2.7	7.2	13.3	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.9	.759
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2010-11	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	37.0	18.8	3.3	6.9	10.2	3.3	0.6	1.6	1.7	2.5	7.2	13.7	.529	0.0	0.0	.333	4.3	5.2	.823
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		%
Pau Gasol	10	35.8	13.1	3.2	4.6	7.8	3.8	0.4	1.7	1.7	3.3	4.7	11.2	.420	0.1	0.2	.500	3.6	4.5	.800
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2011-12	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Pau Gasol	65	37.4	17.4	2.8	7.6	10.4	3.6	0.6	1.4	2.2	2.0	7.1	14.1	.501	0.1	0.4	.259	3.1	4.0	.782
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		%
Pau Gasol	12	37.0	12.5	3.2	6.3	9.5	3.7	0.5	2.1	1.7	3.0	5.2	11.9	.434	0.2	0.4	.400	2.0	2.4	.828
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2012-13	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Pau Gasol	49	33.8	13.7	2.3	6.3	8.6	4.1	0.5	1.2	2.1	1.9	5.5	11.8	.466	0.2	0.6	.286	2.6	3.6	.702
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	36.5	14.0	1.8	9.8	11.5	6.5	0.5	0.8	3.3	1.0	6.3	13.0	.481	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.8	.545
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2013-14	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Pau Gasol	60	31.4	17.4	2.1	7.6	9.7	3.4	0.5	1.5	2.4	2.1	7.1	14.8	.480	0.1	0.2	.286	3.1	4.2	.736
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		%
Pau Gasol	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2014-15	1975-76
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bulls 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		%
Pau Gasol	78	34.4	18.5	2.8	9.0	11.8	2.7	0.3	1.9	2.0	1.9	7.3	14.8	.494	0.2	0.3	.462	3.8	4.7	.803
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		%
Pau Gasol	10	31.7	14.4	1.7	7.7	9.4	3.1	0.5	2.1	2.1	1.8	5.6	11.5	.487	0.0	0.4	.000	3.2	4.2	.762
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
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2015-16	-
Team	Chicago Bulls	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	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		%
Pau Gasol	72	31.8	16.5	2.2	8.9	11.0	4.1	0.6	2.0	2.3	2.1	6.5	13.8	.469	0.3	1.0	.348	3.2	4.0	.792
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 16
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2016-17	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs 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		%
Pau Gasol	64	25.4	12.4	1.7	6.2	7.8	2.3	0.4	1.1	1.3	1.7	4.7	9.4	.502	0.9	1.6	.538	2.0	2.9	.707
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	16	22.8	7.7	2.4	4.7	7.1	1.9	0.4	0.9	1.1	2.2	3.1	7.1	.439	0.4	1.1	.333	1.1	1.5	.708
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 17
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2017-18	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs 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		%
Pau Gasol	77	23.5	10.1	1.7	6.4	8.0	3.1	0.3	1.0	1.4	1.6	3.7	8.1	.458	0.6	1.6	.358	2.1	2.7	.756
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	5	18.0	6.0	0.4	4.4	4.8	2.8	0.0	0.2	1.2	1.0	2.0	4.0	.500	0.2	0.6	.333	1.8	2.0	.900
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 18
	Pau Gasol	Don Nelson
Season	2018-19	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Pau Gasol	30	12.0	3.9	0.7	3.8	4.6	1.7	0.2	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.4	3.1	.447	0.2	0.4	.462	0.9	1.3	.700
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Pau Gasol vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Pau Gasol, 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

Season 18