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Player profile · BOS / CHZ / LAL
Don Nelson
Don Nelson stats, teams and career impact
#277 all-timeCareer averages · 10.3 PPG · 4.9 RPG · 1.4 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Small forward
- Final NBA team
- Boston Celtics
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) · 210 lb (95 kg)
- Born
- May 15, 1940
- Died
- August 9, 2026 (86 yrs old)
- College
- Iowa
- NBA seasons
- 14 seasons · 1962–63 to 1975–76
Career summaryDon Nelson was a small forward who played 14 NBA seasons, from 1962–63 through 1975–76.
- Career PPG
- 10.3
- Career RPG
- 4.9
- Career APG
- 1.4
- #23 in 1974–75
- #277 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Don Nelson ranks #277 all time
Don Nelson ranks #277 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #30.7. His full-career value ranks #471, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
1,053 games · Career Value Rank #471
Head to head
Compare Don Nelson with…
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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Chicago Zephyrs, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 48.0%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 76.5%FT%
1,053 career games · 21,685 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Don Nelson stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | 6.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | -0.77 | BOS | 75 | 0 | 12.6 | 46.2% | — | 78.9% | #95 | 25.8 |
| 1974–75 | 14.0 | 5.9 | 2.3 | +1.75 | BOS | 79 | 0 | 26.0 | 53.9% | — | 82.7% | #23 | 169.9 |
| 1973–74 | 11.5 | 4.2 | 2.0 | +0.21 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 21.3 | 50.8% | — | 78.8% | #66 | 88.4 |
| 1972–73 | 10.8 | 4.4 | 1.4 | +0.37 | BOS | 72 | 0 | 19.8 | 47.6% | — | 84.6% | #50 | 80.4 |
| 1971–72 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 2.3 | +0.65 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 25.4 | 48.0% | — | 78.8% | #46 | 133.8 |
| 1970–71 | 13.9 | 6.9 | 1.9 | -0.04 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 27.5 | 46.8% | — | 74.4% | #63 | 110.7 |
| 1969–70 | 15.4 | 7.3 | 1.8 | +0.49 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 27.1 | 50.1% | — | 77.5% | #38 | 135.5 |
| 1968–69 | 11.6 | 5.6 | 1.1 | +0.63 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 21.6 | 48.5% | — | 77.6% | #35 | 114.0 |
| 1967–68 | 10.0 | 5.3 | 1.3 | +0.75 | BOS | 82 | 0 | 18.3 | 49.4% | — | 72.8% | #34 | 103.9 |
| 1966–67 | 7.5 | 3.7 | 0.8 | -1.66 | BOS | 79 | 0 | 15.2 | 44.6% | — | 74.2% | #70 | 10.4 |
| 1965–66 | 10.2 | 5.4 | 1.1 | -1.24 | BOS | 75 | 0 | 23.5 | 43.9% | — | 68.4% | #57 | 34.2 |
| 1964–65 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.6 | -4.13 | LAL | 39 | 0 | 6.1 | 42.4% | — | 76.9% | — | -12.1 |
| 1963–64 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 0.9 | -2.69 | LAL | 80 | 0 | 17.6 | 41.8% | — | 74.1% | #74 | -22.7 |
| 1962–63 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 1.2 | -2.18 | CHZ | 62 | 0 | 17.3 | 44.0% | — | 72.9% | #70 | -4.5 |
| Career | 10.3 | 4.9 | 1.4 | — | BOS/CHZ/LAL | 1053 | — | 20.6 | 48.0% | — | 76.5% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Don Nelson highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Career retrospective
Don Nelson career retrospective
Don Nelson's career retrospective adds visual context to the numbers on this page, especially his opportunistic scoring and championship role before his coaching career. The vetted footage complements the season tables and impact model.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
35.5 composite · lower is better
35.2 average league finish
968 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Don Nelson ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score35.5
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 143.0
- Qualified seasons
- 13
- All-time rank
- #277
Strongest seasons
Every season
Don Nelson advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 35 | 75 | 943 | -0.77 | 50.0 | #95 | 25.8 | 41st | Standard |
| 1974–75Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 34 | 79 | 2,052 | +1.75 | 88.2 | #23 | 169.9 | 83rd | Broad |
| 1973–74Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 33 | 82 | 1,748 | +0.21 | 63.1 | #66 | 88.4 | 62nd | Broad |
| 1972–73Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 32 | 72 | 1,425 | +0.37 | 71.5 | #50 | 80.4 | 57th | Modeled |
| 1971–72Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 31 | 82 | 2,086 | +0.65 | 72.6 | #46 | 133.8 | 68th | Modeled |
| 1970–71Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 30 | 82 | 2,254 | -0.04 | 62.9 | #63 | 110.7 | 67th | Modeled |
| 1969–70Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 29 | 82 | 2,224 | +0.49 | 73.8 | #38 | 135.5 | 69th | Modeled |
| 1968–69Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 28 | 82 | 1,773 | +0.63 | 74.4 | #35 | 114.0 | 64th | Modeled |
| 1967–68Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 27 | 82 | 1,498 | +0.75 | 72.5 | #34 | 103.9 | 58th | Modeled |
| 1966–67Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 26 | 79 | 1,202 | -1.66 | 31.0 | #70 | 10.4 | 27th | Modeled |
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 25 | 75 | 1,765 | -1.24 | 39.8 | #57 | 34.2 | 43rd | Modeled |
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 24 | 39 | 238 | -4.13 | — | — | -12.1 | — | Modeled |
| 1963–64Historical Defense Estimate | LAL | 23 | 80 | 1,406 | -2.69 | 20.7 | #74 | -22.7 | 16th | Modeled |
| 1962–63Historical Defense Estimate | CHZ | 22 | 62 | 1,071 | -2.18 | 24.2 | #70 | -4.5 | 23rd | Modeled |
Career movement
Don Nelson's box impact by season
Peak box impact +1.75 points per 100 possessions in 1974–75 · 14 seasons · 21,685 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Don NelsonMatt Barnes
| NBA season | Don Nelson | Matt Barnes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -2.2 | -2.5 |
| 2 | -2.7 | -2.9 |
| 3 | -4.1 | -3.3 |
| 4 | -1.2 | 1.3 |
| 5 | -1.7 | -0.5 |
| 6 | 0.7 | -1.6 |
| 7 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| 8 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| 9 | -0.0 | 1.5 |
| 10 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| 11 | 0.4 | -0.8 |
| 12 | 0.2 | -1.3 |
| 13 | 1.7 | -0.6 |
| 14 | -0.8 | -1.7 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
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The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
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94career similarity score
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92career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 1974–75 ↔ 2017–18PF · All-Time Career #151Johnny Green
92career similarity score
91/100 closest-season score · 1974–75 ↔ 1969–70Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →