Spencer Haywood vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Spencer Haywood, 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.

Spencer Haywood played 12 years in the NBA, 2 less than Don Nelson, who played 14. Spencer Haywood had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, 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
Spencer Haywood	12	4	1970-71 to 1982-83
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1970-71	1962-63
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards
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		%
Spencer Haywood	33	35.2	20.6	-	-	12.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	7.9	17.5	.449	-	-	-	4.8	6.6	.734
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1971-72	1963-64
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Spencer Haywood	73	43.4	26.2	-	-	12.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.8	9.8	21.3	.461	-	-	-	6.6	8.0	.819
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1972-73	1964-65
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
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		%
Spencer Haywood	77	42.3	29.2	-	-	12.9	2.5	-	-	-	2.8	11.5	24.3	.476	-	-	-	6.1	7.3	.839
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1973-74	1965-66
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Spencer Haywood	75	40.5	23.5	4.2	9.2	13.4	3.2	0.9	1.4	-	2.6	9.3	20.3	.457	-	-	-	5.0	6.1	.814
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1974-75	1966-67
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 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		%
Spencer Haywood	68	37.2	22.4	2.9	6.4	9.3	2.0	0.8	1.6	-	2.5	8.9	19.5	.459	-	-	-	4.5	5.6	.811
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		%
Spencer Haywood	9	37.4	15.7	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.0	0.8	1.2	-	3.2	5.2	14.6	.359	-	-	-	5.2	6.8	.770
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1975-76	1967-68
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Spencer Haywood	78	37.1	19.9	3.0	8.3	11.3	1.2	0.7	1.0	-	3.3	7.8	17.4	.445	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.757
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1976-77	1968-69
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Spencer Haywood	31	32.9	16.5	2.5	6.5	9.0	1.6	0.5	0.9	-	2.3	6.5	14.5	.450	-	-	-	3.5	4.2	.832
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1977-78	1969-70
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf 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		%
Spencer Haywood	67	26.3	13.7	2.1	4.5	6.6	1.9	0.6	1.1	2.1	2.8	6.1	12.7	.484	-	-	-	1.4	2.0	.711
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		%
Spencer Haywood	6	29.5	16.2	3.2	3.8	7.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	1.7	4.0	7.2	14.2	.506	-	-	-	1.8	1.8	1.000
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1978-79	1970-71
Team	New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Spencer Haywood	68	34.7	20.9	2.5	5.3	7.8	1.9	0.6	1.2	2.9	3.5	8.8	17.7	.494	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.791
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1979-80	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Spencer Haywood	76	20.3	9.7	1.7	2.8	4.6	1.2	0.5	0.8	1.8	2.6	3.8	7.8	.487	0.0	0.1	.250	2.1	2.7	.772
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		%
Spencer Haywood	11	13.2	5.7	1.3	1.1	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.5	1.8	1.5	2.3	4.8	.472	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.5	.813
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854

Note: Spencer Haywood didn't play in 1980-81.


Season 11
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1981-82	1972-73
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East 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		%
Spencer Haywood	76	27.4	13.3	1.9	3.7	5.6	0.8	0.6	0.9	2.3	3.3	5.2	10.9	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	3.4	.842
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		%
Spencer Haywood	7	33.0	20.0	2.3	3.3	5.6	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.1	4.0	8.1	16.4	.496	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.0	.743
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
	Spencer Haywood	Don Nelson
Season	1982-83	1973-74
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	38	20.4	8.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.8	0.3	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.3	8.2	.401	0.0	0.0	.000	1.7	2.3	.724
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Spencer Haywood vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Spencer Haywood, 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