Paul George vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Paul George, 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.

Paul George and Don Nelson both played 14 years in the NBA. Paul George had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, 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
Paul George	14	11	2010-11 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


Rookie Season
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2010-11	1962-63
Team	Indiana Pacers	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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 George	61	20.7	7.8	0.6	3.1	3.7	1.1	1.0	0.4	1.1	2.1	2.9	6.5	.453	0.7	2.3	.297	1.3	1.7	.762
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 George	5	26.6	6.0	1.0	4.0	5.0	1.0	1.4	2.0	1.4	2.2	2.0	6.6	.303	0.6	2.6	.231	1.4	1.6	.875
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2011-12	1963-64
Team	Indiana Pacers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 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 George	66	29.7	12.1	0.8	4.8	5.6	2.4	1.6	0.6	1.8	2.9	4.3	9.7	.440	1.4	3.5	.385	2.2	2.8	.802
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 George	11	33.7	9.7	1.4	5.3	6.6	2.4	1.6	0.4	1.9	2.9	3.4	8.6	.389	1.0	3.7	.268	2.0	2.5	.786
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
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2012-13	1964-65
Team	Indiana Pacers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals	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 George	79	37.6	17.4	1.1	6.5	7.6	4.1	1.8	0.6	2.9	2.9	6.2	14.9	.419	2.2	5.9	.362	2.8	3.5	.807
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 George	19	41.1	19.2	0.8	6.6	7.4	5.1	1.3	0.5	3.9	3.8	6.3	14.6	.430	1.8	5.5	.327	4.9	6.7	.727
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 George	Don Nelson
Season	2013-14	1965-66
Team	Indiana Pacers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Paul George	80	36.2	21.7	0.8	6.0	6.8	3.5	1.9	0.3	2.8	2.5	7.2	17.0	.424	2.3	6.3	.364	5.0	5.8	.864
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 George	19	41.1	22.6	0.7	6.9	7.6	3.8	2.2	0.4	2.6	2.9	7.3	16.6	.438	2.7	6.8	.403	5.3	6.7	.789
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 George	Don Nelson
Season	2014-15	1966-67
Team	Indiana Pacers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 George	6	15.2	8.8	0.7	3.0	3.7	1.0	0.8	0.2	2.0	1.8	3.0	8.2	.367	1.5	3.7	.409	1.3	1.8	.727
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 George	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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 George	Don Nelson
Season	2015-16	1967-68
Team	Indiana Pacers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Paul George	81	34.8	23.1	1.0	6.0	7.0	4.1	1.9	0.4	3.3	2.8	7.5	17.9	.418	2.6	7.0	.371	5.6	6.5	.860
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 George	7	39.3	27.3	1.3	6.3	7.6	4.3	2.0	0.7	3.3	3.4	8.0	17.6	.455	2.6	6.1	.419	8.7	9.1	.953
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 George	Don Nelson
Season	2016-17	1968-69
Team	Indiana Pacers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Paul George	75	35.9	23.7	0.8	5.8	6.6	3.3	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.7	8.3	18.0	.461	2.6	6.6	.393	4.5	5.0	.898
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 George	4	43.0	28.0	1.3	7.5	8.8	7.3	1.8	0.5	3.3	3.3	8.5	22.0	.386	4.5	10.5	.429	6.5	7.5	.867
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 George	Don Nelson
Season	2017-18	1969-70
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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 George	79	36.6	21.9	0.9	4.7	5.7	3.3	2.0	0.5	2.7	2.9	7.3	17.0	.430	3.1	7.7	.401	4.3	5.2	.822
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 George	6	41.8	24.7	0.7	5.3	6.0	2.7	1.3	0.7	4.0	2.8	8.2	20.0	.408	3.2	8.7	.365	5.2	6.0	.861
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2018-19	1970-71
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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 George	77	36.9	28.0	1.4	6.8	8.2	4.1	2.2	0.4	2.7	2.8	9.2	21.0	.438	3.8	9.8	.386	5.9	7.0	.839
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 George	5	40.8	28.6	1.2	7.4	8.6	3.6	1.4	0.2	4.2	4.2	8.8	20.2	.436	3.0	9.4	.319	8.0	9.8	.816
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2019-20	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers 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		%
Paul George	48	29.6	21.5	0.5	5.2	5.7	3.9	1.4	0.4	2.6	2.4	7.1	16.3	.439	3.3	7.9	.412	4.0	4.5	.876
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 George	13	36.8	20.2	1.1	5.0	6.1	3.8	1.5	0.5	3.1	3.8	6.8	17.0	.398	2.8	8.5	.333	3.8	4.2	.909
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
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2020-21	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 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 George	54	33.7	23.3	0.8	5.8	6.6	5.2	1.1	0.4	3.3	2.4	8.2	17.6	.467	3.2	7.7	.411	3.7	4.2	.868
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		%
Paul George	19	40.8	26.9	0.9	8.7	9.6	5.4	1.0	0.5	3.5	3.1	8.7	19.7	.441	2.7	8.0	.336	6.8	8.1	.844
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
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2021-22	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	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		%
Paul George	31	34.7	24.3	0.4	6.5	6.9	5.7	2.2	0.4	4.1	2.4	8.6	20.5	.421	2.9	8.3	.354	4.1	4.8	.858
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 George	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2022-23	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Paul George	56	34.6	23.8	0.8	5.3	6.1	5.1	1.5	0.4	3.1	2.8	8.2	17.9	.457	2.8	7.6	.371	4.6	5.3	.871
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		%
Paul George	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul George	Don Nelson
Season	2023-24	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West 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		%
Paul George	74	33.8	22.6	0.5	4.7	5.2	3.5	1.5	0.5	2.1	2.7	7.9	16.7	.471	3.3	7.9	.413	3.6	3.9	.907
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 George	6	37.0	19.5	0.5	6.3	6.8	4.8	1.2	0.5	2.3	3.7	6.5	15.8	.411	3.0	8.2	.367	3.5	4.2	.840
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

Paul George vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Paul George, 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