Don Buse vs. Elvin Hayes Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Elvin Hayes and Don Buse, 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.

Don Buse played 9 years in the NBA, 7 less than Elvin Hayes, who played 16. Don Buse had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Elvin Hayes had his rookie season in 1968-69. 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
Don Buse	9	6	1976-77 to 1984-85
Elvin Hayes	16	10	1968-69 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1976-77	1968-69
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets 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		%
Don Buse	81	36.4	8.0	0.8	2.5	3.3	8.5	3.5	0.2	-	1.6	3.3	7.9	.416	-	-	-	1.4	1.8	.786
Elvin Hayes	82	45.1	28.4	-	-	17.1	1.4	-	-	-	3.2	11.3	25.4	.447	-	-	-	5.7	9.1	.626

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	6	46.3	25.8	-	-	13.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	10.0	19.0	.526	-	-	-	5.8	8.8	.660


Season 2
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1977-78	1969-70
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Don Buse	82	31.1	8.4	0.7	2.3	3.0	4.8	2.3	0.2	1.5	1.8	3.5	7.6	.458	-	-	-	1.4	1.7	.824
Elvin Hayes	82	44.7	27.5	-	-	16.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	11.1	24.6	.452	-	-	-	5.2	7.6	.688

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	2	38.0	4.0	0.0	2.5	2.5	2.0	2.0	0.0	0.5	1.5	2.0	5.5	.364	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1978-79	1970-71
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 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		%
Don Buse	82	31.0	7.8	0.5	2.1	2.6	4.3	1.9	0.2	1.2	1.8	3.5	7.0	.495	-	-	-	0.9	1.1	.769
Elvin Hayes	82	44.3	28.7	-	-	16.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	11.6	27.0	.428	-	-	-	5.5	8.2	.672

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	15	34.1	7.9	1.1	2.5	3.7	3.5	1.5	0.3	1.0	2.1	3.1	7.7	.405	-	-	-	1.6	2.2	.727
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1979-80	1971-72
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West 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		%
Don Buse	81	30.9	7.7	0.9	2.0	2.9	4.0	1.6	0.1	1.1	1.4	3.2	7.3	.443	0.2	1.0	.241	1.0	1.6	.664
Elvin Hayes	82	42.2	25.2	-	-	14.6	3.3	-	-	-	2.8	10.1	23.4	.434	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.649

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	8	29.5	8.5	1.0	1.6	2.6	5.5	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.9	3.5	8.0	.438	0.6	1.6	.385	0.9	1.4	.636
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1980-81	1972-73
Team	Indiana Pacers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Bullets Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Buse	58	18.9	5.1	0.3	1.1	1.4	2.4	1.3	0.1	0.7	1.1	2.0	4.9	.397	0.3	1.0	.328	0.9	1.1	.769
Elvin Hayes	81	41.3	21.2	-	-	14.5	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.671

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	2	17.5	2.5	0.0	2.5	2.5	3.5	1.5	0.0	1.0	2.0	0.5	4.0	.125	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.0	1.000
Elvin Hayes	5	45.6	25.8	-	-	11.4	1.0	-	-	-	3.2	10.6	21.0	.505	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.697


Season 6
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1981-82	1973-74
Team	Indiana Pacers	Capital Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Buse	82	30.8	9.7	0.6	2.2	2.7	5.0	2.0	0.3	1.2	2.1	3.8	8.4	.455	0.9	2.3	.386	1.2	1.5	.813
Elvin Hayes	81	44.5	21.4	4.4	13.7	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	-	3.1	8.5	20.1	.423	-	-	-	4.4	6.1	.721

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	7	46.1	25.9	4.4	11.4	15.9	3.0	0.7	2.1	-	3.3	10.9	20.4	.531	-	-	-	4.1	5.9	.707


Season 7
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1982-83	1974-75
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	Bullets 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		%
Don Buse	41	15.7	4.7	0.5	0.9	1.3	2.8	1.1	0.0	0.6	1.5	1.8	4.4	.396	0.2	0.9	.257	1.0	1.1	.891
Elvin Hayes	82	42.3	23.0	2.7	9.5	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	-	2.9	9.0	20.3	.443	-	-	-	5.0	6.5	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	5	6.2	1.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.6	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.8	.750
Elvin Hayes	17	44.2	25.5	2.7	8.2	10.9	2.2	1.5	2.3	-	4.1	10.2	21.9	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.677


Season 8
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1983-84	1975-76
Team	Kansas City Kings	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bullets Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Buse	76	17.5	5.0	0.4	1.1	1.5	4.0	1.1	0.0	1.1	0.8	2.0	4.6	.426	0.2	0.8	.305	0.8	1.1	.788
Elvin Hayes	80	37.2	19.8	2.6	8.4	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	-	3.7	8.1	17.3	.470	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	.628

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	3	16.7	7.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.3	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.3	5.3	.438	1.0	2.0	.500	1.3	2.0	.667
Elvin Hayes	7	43.6	20.0	2.3	10.3	12.6	1.4	0.7	4.0	-	3.4	7.7	17.4	.443	-	-	-	4.6	7.9	.582


Season 9
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	1984-85	1976-77
Team	Kansas City Kings	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Buse	65	14.4	3.4	0.3	0.6	0.9	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.7	1.2	1.3	3.1	.404	0.5	1.3	.356	0.4	0.5	.767
Elvin Hayes	82	41.0	23.7	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	-	3.8	9.3	18.5	.501	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.687

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	9	45.0	21.0	3.2	10.3	13.6	1.9	1.1	2.4	-	4.3	8.2	19.2	.428	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.695


Season 10
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1977-78
Team	-	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	81	40.1	19.7	4.1	9.1	13.3	1.8	1.2	2.0	2.8	3.9	7.9	17.4	.451	-	-	-	4.0	6.3	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	21	41.3	21.8	4.9	8.4	13.3	2.0	1.5	2.5	2.8	4.1	9.0	18.3	.491	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.594


Season 11
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1978-79
Team	-	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Bullets 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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	82	37.9	21.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	1.7	0.9	2.3	2.9	3.8	8.8	18.0	.487	-	-	-	4.3	6.5	.654

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	19	41.4	22.5	4.9	9.1	14.0	2.0	0.9	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.9	20.8	.429	-	-	-	4.6	6.8	.669


Season 12
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1979-80
Team	-	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	81	39.3	23.0	3.3	7.7	11.1	1.6	0.8	2.3	2.7	3.8	9.4	20.7	.454	0.0	0.2	.231	4.1	5.9	.699

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	2	46.0	20.0	5.0	6.0	11.0	3.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	8.0	20.5	.390	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	5.0	.800


Season 13
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1980-81
Team	-	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	81	36.2	17.8	2.9	6.8	9.7	1.2	0.8	2.1	2.3	3.7	7.2	16.0	.451	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.4	.617

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1981-82
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	82	37.0	16.1	3.3	5.9	9.1	1.8	0.8	1.3	2.5	3.5	6.3	13.4	.472	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	5.1	.664

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	3	41.3	14.0	2.3	7.7	10.0	1.0	0.7	3.3	2.0	4.0	5.7	16.7	.340	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	5.0	.533


Season 15
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1982-83
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	81	28.4	12.9	2.5	5.1	7.6	2.0	0.6	1.0	2.5	2.9	5.2	11.0	.476	0.0	0.0	.500	2.4	3.5	.683

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Don Buse	Elvin Hayes
Season	-	1983-84
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	81	12.3	5.0	1.1	2.1	3.2	0.9	0.2	0.3	1.0	1.5	2.0	4.8	.406	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.6	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Buse vs. Elvin Hayes Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Elvin Hayes and Don Buse, 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

Season 15

Season 16