Category profile
- Dominance
- 86
- Peak
- 90
- Longevity
- 96
- Honours
- 90
- Statistics
- 90
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 30 | |
| 1978 | 50 | |
| 1979 | 49 | |
| 1980 | 60 | |
| 1981 | 51 | |
| 1982 | 55 | |
| 1983 | 50 | |
| 1984 | 50 | |
| 1985 | 54 | |
| 1986 | 42 | |
| 1987 | 44 | |
| 1988 | 55 | |
| 1989 | 44 | |
| 1990 | 47 | |
| 1991 | 34 | |
| 1992 | 48 | |
| 1993 | 43 | |
| 1994 | 61 | |
| 1995 | 21 | |
| 1996 | 25 | |
| 1997 | 34 | |
| 1998 | 29 | |
| 1999 | 48 | |
| 2000 | 29 | |
| 2001 | 26 |
Data sources
- NBA.com
- Basketball Reference
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Don Nelson ranks #13 in Basketball
Don Nelson ranks 13th among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 52nd of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 90.2 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 86, Peak 90, Longevity 96, Honours 90, Statistics 90. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 402 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1962–2010 with 25 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1994, which sets the Peak component at 90. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 96 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes nba titles as a player 5, career coaching wins 1335, coach of the year awards 3, seasons as a head coach 31.
Immediately ahead sits Tim Duncan on 90.5, a gap of 0.3 points. Directly behind is Stephen Curry on 90.0. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Don Nelson GOAT Score explained
- Dominance86/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Nelson stood above the field while competing. Scored 86/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak90/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1994. Scored 90/100.
- Longevity96/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 48 years of competition and 25 recorded seasons. Scored 96/100.
- Honours90/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 90/100.
- Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.
Top Nelson comparisons
Don Nelson — frequently asked
- Is Don Nelson the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Don Nelson ranks 13th in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 90.2, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is Don Nelson's GOAT Score?
- 90.2 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 86 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 96 (20%), Honours 90 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Don Nelson rank all time?
- 52nd of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 13th within Basketball.
- Don Nelson vs Tim Duncan: who ranks higher?
- Tim Duncan, on 90.5 against Don Nelson's 90.2 — a margin of 0.3 points.