Donaldson cited Artis Gilmore, Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, Truck Robinson and Maurice Lucas as some of the strongest players he played against early in his career.

[8] He had his finest years while playing for the Mavericks, providing rebounding and shot-blocking to complement Dallas' star-studded line-up, which included Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Roy Tarpley, Derek Harper, Sam Perkins, and Brad Davis.

Donaldson himself earned a spot on the 1988 All-Star Team during a season in which the Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

[10] Sadly, things fell apart for the Mavericks generally in the late 1980s and early 1990s as their core group was either traded away (like Aguirre) or squandered vast potential via personal problems (like Tarpley) and Donaldson became the target for many fans and even his teammates for the franchise's woes, making the end of his otherwise hugely successful tenure in Dallas inevitable.

[1] After brief stints with the New York Knicks (traded midway through 1991–92 for Brian Quinnett) and Utah Jazz (49 games in two seasons combined) in the early 1990s, injuries forced Donaldson into retirement from the NBA.

[12] He also had spells with Snai Montecatini (Italy, 1997–98, for only six games), Breogán Lugo (Spain, two stints, in 1998 and 1999) and Gymnastikos S. Larissas (Greek Second Division, 1998–99), retiring for good at the age of 41.