Don Nelson
Position: Forward
Full Name: Donald Arvid Nelson
Nickname: Nellie
Born: May 15, 1940 in Muskegon, Michigan
Height: 6-6
Weight: 210
High School: Rock Island in Rock Island, Illinois
College: University of Iowa
Drafted: 3rd Round, 1st Pick - Chicago Zephyrs, 1962
Jersey#: 20, 19 (Boston Celtics, 44 (Chicago Zephyrs)
Played for the Lakers from 1963 to 1965
Nelson had a long NBA career as a player, coach and general manager.
Even though Nelson played two seasons for the Lakers, his most famous moment at the Forum was while playing for the Celtics. It was the seventh game of the 1969 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Celtics, and the Lakers led, two games to none. With slightly more than a minute to play and Boston leading, Nelson hit a lucky shot from the freee-throw line. The Celtics went on to win the game 108-106 and then the series.
Claimed on waivers by the Lakers on September 6, 1963 from the Chicago Zephyrs. Signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics on October 28, 1965.
Regular Season Stats
| YEAR | TEAM | G | MIN | FGM | FGA | PCT | FTM | FTA | PCT | 3PM | 3PA | PCT | REB | RPG | AST | PF | STL | TO | BLK | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | CH2 | 62 | 1071 | 129 | 293 | .440 | 161 | 221 | .729 | 0 | 0 | - | 279 | 4.5 | 72 | 136 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 419 | 6.8 |
| 1964 | LAL | 80 | 1406 | 135 | 323 | .418 | 149 | 201 | .741 | 0 | 0 | - | 323 | 4.0 | 76 | 181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 419 | 5.2 |
| 1965 | LAL | 39 | 238 | 36 | 85 | .424 | 20 | 26 | .769 | 0 | 0 | - | 73 | 1.9 | 24 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 2.4 |
| 1966 | BOS | 75 | 1765 | 271 | 618 | .439 | 223 | 326 | .684 | 0 | 0 | - | 403 | 5.4 | 79 | 187 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 765 | 10.2 |
| 1967 | BOS | 79 | 1202 | 227 | 509 | .446 | 141 | 190 | .742 | 0 | 0 | - | 295 | 3.7 | 65 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 595 | 7.5 |
| 1968 | BOS | 82 | 1498 | 312 | 632 | .494 | 195 | 268 | .728 | 0 | 0 | - | 431 | 5.3 | 103 | 178 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 819 | 10.0 |
| 1969 | BOS | 82 | 1773 | 374 | 771 | .485 | 201 | 259 | .776 | 0 | 0 | - | 458 | 5.6 | 92 | 198 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 949 | 11.6 |
| 1970 | BOS | 82 | 2224 | 461 | 920 | .501 | 337 | 435 | .775 | 0 | 0 | - | 601 | 7.3 | 148 | 238 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1259 | 15.4 |
| 1971 | BOS | 82 | 2254 | 412 | 881 | .468 | 317 | 426 | .744 | 0 | 0 | - | 565 | 6.9 | 153 | 232 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1141 | 13.9 |
| 1972 | BOS | 82 | 2086 | 389 | 811 | .480 | 356 | 452 | .788 | 0 | 0 | - | 453 | 5.5 | 192 | 220 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1134 | 13.8 |
| 1973 | BOS | 72 | 1425 | 309 | 649 | .476 | 159 | 188 | .846 | 0 | 0 | - | 315 | 4.4 | 102 | 155 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 777 | 10.8 |
| 1974 | BOS | 82 | 1748 | 364 | 717 | .508 | 215 | 273 | .788 | 0 | 0 | - | 345 | 4.2 | 162 | 189 | 19 | 0 | 13 | 943 | 11.5 |
| 1975 | BOS | 79 | 2052 | 423 | 785 | .539 | 263 | 318 | .827 | 0 | 0 | - | 469 | 5.9 | 181 | 239 | 32 | 0 | 15 | 1109 | 14.0 |
| 1976 | BOS | 75 | 943 | 175 | 379 | .462 | 127 | 161 | .789 | 0 | 0 | - | 182 | 2.4 | 77 | 115 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 477 | 6.4 |
| CAREER | 1053 | 21685 | 4017 | 8373 | .480 | 2864 | 3744 | .765 | 0 | 0 | - | 5192 | 4.9 | 1526 | 2451 | 65 | 0 | 35 | 10898 | 10.3 | |
Playoff Stats
| YEAR | TEAM | G | MIN | FGM | FGA | PCT | FTM | FTA | PCT | 3PM | 3PA | PCT | REB | RPG | AST | PF | STL | TO | BLK | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | LAL | 5 | 56 | 7 | 13 | .538 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | - | 13 | 2.6 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3.4 |
| 1965 | LAL | 11 | 212 | 24 | 53 | .453 | 19 | 25 | .760 | 0 | 0 | - | 59 | 5.4 | 19 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 6.1 |
| 1966 | BOS | 17 | 316 | 50 | 118 | .424 | 42 | 52 | .808 | 0 | 0 | - | 85 | 5.0 | 13 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 8.4 |
| 1967 | BOS | 9 | 142 | 27 | 59 | .458 | 10 | 17 | .588 | 0 | 0 | - | 42 | 4.7 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 7.1 |
| 1968 | BOS | 19 | 468 | 91 | 175 | .520 | 55 | 74 | .743 | 0 | 0 | - | 143 | 7.5 | 32 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 237 | 12.5 |
| 1969 | BOS | 18 | 348 | 87 | 168 | .518 | 50 | 60 | .833 | 0 | 0 | - | 83 | 4.6 | 21 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 224 | 12.4 |
| 1972 | BOS | 11 | 308 | 52 | 99 | .525 | 41 | 48 | .854 | 0 | 0 | - | 61 | 5.5 | 21 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145 | 13.2 |
| 1973 | BOS | 13 | 303 | 47 | 101 | .465 | 49 | 56 | .875 | 0 | 0 | - | 38 | 2.9 | 15 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 11.0 |
| 1974 | BOS | 18 | 467 | 82 | 164 | .500 | 41 | 53 | .774 | 0 | 0 | - | 97 | 5.4 | 35 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 205 | 11.4 |
| 1975 | BOS | 11 | 274 | 66 | 117 | .564 | 37 | 41 | .902 | 0 | 0 | - | 45 | 4.1 | 26 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169 | 15.4 |
| 1976 | BOS | 18 | 315 | 52 | 108 | .481 | 60 | 69 | .870 | 0 | 0 | - | 53 | 2.9 | 17 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164 | 9.1 |
| CAREER | 150 | 3209 | 585 | 1175 | .498 | 407 | 498 | .817 | 0 | 0 | - | 719 | 4.8 | 210 | 399 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1577 | 10.5 | |

