Sam Jones vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Sam Jones, 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.

Sam Jones played 12 years in the NBA, 2 less than Don Nelson, who played 14. Sam Jones had the first of his seasons in 1957-58, 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
Sam Jones	12	12	1957-58 to 1968-69
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1957-58	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
Sam Jones	56	10.6	4.6	-	-	2.9	0.7	-	-	-	0.8	1.8	4.2	.429	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.714
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		%
Sam Jones	8	9.4	3.9	-	-	3.0	0.5	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	2.8	.455	-	-	-	1.4	2.0	.688
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1958-59	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	71	20.6	10.7	-	-	6.0	1.4	-	-	-	1.4	4.3	9.9	.434	-	-	-	2.1	2.8	.770
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		%
Sam Jones	11	17.5	10.3	-	-	5.7	1.5	-	-	-	1.3	3.6	9.8	.370	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.846
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1959-60	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	74	20.4	11.9	-	-	5.1	1.7	-	-	-	1.4	4.8	10.6	.454	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.764
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		%
Sam Jones	13	15.2	8.2	-	-	3.2	1.4	-	-	-	1.2	3.5	9.0	.385	-	-	-	1.3	1.6	.810
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1960-61	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Sam Jones	78	26.0	15.0	-	-	5.4	2.8	-	-	-	1.9	6.2	13.7	.449	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.787
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		%
Sam Jones	10	25.8	13.1	-	-	5.4	2.2	-	-	-	2.2	5.0	11.2	.446	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.886
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1961-62	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	78	30.6	18.4	-	-	5.9	3.0	-	-	-	1.9	7.6	16.5	.464	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.818
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		%
Sam Jones	14	36.0	20.6	-	-	7.1	3.1	-	-	-	2.1	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.700
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1962-63	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Sam Jones	76	30.6	19.7	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.1	8.2	17.2	.476	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.793
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		%
Sam Jones	13	34.6	23.8	-	-	6.2	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	9.2	19.1	.484	-	-	-	5.3	6.4	.831
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1963-64	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	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		%
Sam Jones	76	31.3	19.4	-	-	4.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.1	17.9	.450	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	.783
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		%
Sam Jones	10	35.6	23.2	-	-	4.7	2.3	-	-	-	2.4	9.1	18.0	.506	-	-	-	5.0	6.8	.735
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1964-65	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second 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		%
Sam Jones	80	36.1	25.9	-	-	5.1	2.8	-	-	-	2.2	10.3	22.7	.452	-	-	-	5.4	6.5	.820
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		%
Sam Jones	12	41.3	28.6	-	-	4.6	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	11.3	24.5	.459	-	-	-	6.1	7.0	.869
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1965-66	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second 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		%
Sam Jones	67	32.2	23.5	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.5	9.3	19.9	.469	-	-	-	4.9	6.1	.799
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		%
Sam Jones	17	35.4	24.8	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.1	20.2	.449	-	-	-	6.7	8.0	.838
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1966-67	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Sam Jones	72	32.3	22.1	-	-	4.7	3.0	-	-	-	2.7	8.9	19.5	.454	-	-	-	4.4	5.2	.857
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		%
Sam Jones	9	36.2	26.7	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.0	.459	-	-	-	5.6	6.4	.862
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1967-68	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	73	33.0	21.3	-	-	4.9	3.0	-	-	-	2.5	8.5	18.5	.461	-	-	-	4.3	5.2	.827
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		%
Sam Jones	19	36.1	20.5	-	-	3.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	8.5	19.3	.441	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.786
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	1968-69	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Sam Jones	70	26.0	16.3	-	-	3.8	2.6	-	-	-	1.7	7.1	15.8	.450	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.783
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		%
Sam Jones	18	28.6	16.8	-	-	3.2	2.1	-	-	-	2.5	6.9	16.4	.419	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.797
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	-	1974-75
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Sam Jones	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Sam Jones	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Sam Jones	Don Nelson
Season	-	1975-76
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Sam Jones	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Sam Jones vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Sam Jones, 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