Paul Arizin vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Paul Arizin, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Paul Arizin played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Don Nelson, who played 14. Paul Arizin had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1950-51	1962-63
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	65	-	17.2	-	-	9.8	2.1	-	-	-	4.4	5.4	13.3	.407	-	-	-	6.4	8.1	.793
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		%
Paul Arizin	2	-	20.5	-	-	10.0	1.5	-	-	-	5.0	7.0	13.5	.519	-	-	-	6.5	8.0	.813
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1951-52	1963-64
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Paul Arizin	66	44.5	25.4	-	-	11.3	2.6	-	-	-	3.8	8.3	18.5	.448	-	-	-	8.8	10.7	.818
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		%
Paul Arizin	3	40.0	25.7	-	-	12.7	2.7	-	-	-	5.7	8.0	17.7	.453	-	-	-	9.7	11.0	.879
Don Nelson	5	11.2	3.4	-	-	2.6	0.4	-	-	-	2.2	1.4	2.6	.538	-	-	-	0.6	0.6	1.000

Note: Paul Arizin didn't play in 1952-53 and 1953-54.

Season 3
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1954-55	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Paul Arizin	72	41.0	21.0	-	-	9.4	2.9	-	-	-	3.8	7.3	18.4	.399	-	-	-	6.3	8.1	.776
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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1955-56	1965-66
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Paul Arizin	72	37.8	24.2	-	-	7.5	2.6	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	19.1	.448	-	-	-	7.0	8.7	.810
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		%
Paul Arizin	10	40.9	28.9	-	-	8.4	2.9	-	-	-	3.1	10.3	22.9	.450	-	-	-	8.3	9.9	.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
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1956-57	1966-67
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	71	39.0	25.6	-	-	7.9	2.1	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	20.4	.422	-	-	-	8.3	10.0	.829
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		%
Paul Arizin	2	11.0	4.5	-	-	4.0	0.5	-	-	-	1.5	1.5	4.0	.375	-	-	-	1.5	2.5	.600
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
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1957-58	1967-68
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	68	35.0	20.7	-	-	7.4	2.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.1	18.1	.393	-	-	-	6.5	8.0	.809
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		%
Paul Arizin	8	38.6	23.5	-	-	7.8	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	8.3	21.1	.391	-	-	-	7.0	9.0	.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
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1958-59	1968-69
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Paul Arizin	70	40.0	26.4	-	-	9.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.9	.431	-	-	-	8.4	10.3	.813
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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1959-60	1969-70
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	72	36.4	22.3	-	-	8.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	8.2	19.4	.424	-	-	-	5.8	7.3	.798
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		%
Paul Arizin	9	41.2	26.3	-	-	9.6	3.7	-	-	-	3.2	9.3	21.7	.431	-	-	-	7.7	8.8	.873
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1960-61	1970-71
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	79	37.2	23.2	-	-	8.6	2.4	-	-	-	4.2	8.2	19.4	.425	-	-	-	6.7	8.1	.833
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		%
Paul Arizin	3	41.7	22.3	-	-	8.7	4.0	-	-	-	5.7	7.3	22.3	.328	-	-	-	7.7	11.0	.697
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	1961-62	1971-72
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	78	35.7	21.9	-	-	6.8	2.6	-	-	-	3.9	7.8	19.1	.410	-	-	-	6.2	7.7	.805
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		%
Paul Arizin	12	38.3	23.2	-	-	6.7	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	7.9	21.1	.375	-	-	-	7.3	8.5	.863
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854

Season 12
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	-	1973-74
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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 14
	Paul Arizin	Don Nelson
Season	-	1975-76
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Paul Arizin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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