Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history who won five championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, died Sunday. He was 86. His death was announced by the Golden State Warriors, one of the teams he coached during his storied career.
Nelson is one of only two coaches in NBA history to have at least 250 wins with three different franchises—Milwaukee, Dallas, and Golden State—while also serving as general manager for all three organizations. He was a three-time coach of the year and made the playoffs 18 times in 31 seasons. He reached the conference finals three times with the Bucks and once with the Mavericks, though he never secured a title as a head coach.
Nelson introduced what is now known as the point forward, and his up-tempo style of offense created a significant buzz in the league. He said the idea of shifting from the dominant big men of the 1970s to an offense focused on speed and the fast break came from his playing days under Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach. “The league really hadn’t seen an offense like the one we were running, and the results were undeniable,” Nelson wrote in 2016 in The Players’ Tribune. He added that “without Red Auerbach teaching me the mechanics of running the fast break, none of it would have been possible. He deserves all the credit for Nellie Ball, and for how fast the game of basketball is played today.”
Nelson played 11 of his 14 seasons in Boston and was on five Celtics championship teams under four different coaches. He became an assistant coach in Milwaukee after retiring as a player, then took over after coach Larry Costello resigned 18 games into the 1976-77 season. Nelson coached the Bucks for 11 seasons starting in 1976 and won seven straight division titles. During his second season, Milwaukee famously overcame a 29-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Atlanta 117-115 in regulation.
Reflecting on his philosophy, Nelson wrote, “I coached the team as though I was still playing for the Celtics, while implementing a few of my own strategies. I knew I wanted to play unconventional basketball and use speed to my advantage.” His fast-paced offenses were best displayed with Golden State in the “Run TMC” era featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, whom he insisted on playing together.
Nelson spent 11 seasons over two stints with Golden State. His first tenure was marked by a rift with rookie star Chris Webber, who was traded away a month into his second season. Nelson, demoralized by the trade, missed nine games that season due to illness and resigned under pressure three months later in February 1995. He was subsequently fired after less than one season in New York in 1995-96, then coached in Dallas for eight seasons, missing 21 games starting in December 2000 to recuperate from prostate cancer surgery.
In Dallas, Nelson’s son, Donnie, joined him as an assistant in 1998, later becoming general manager. Together, they persuaded 20-year-old German star Dirk Nowitzki to join the Mavericks. Don Nelson also developed Steve Nash into one of the NBA’s top point guards before Nash won back-to-back MVPs with the Phoenix Suns in 2005 and 2006. Current Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted, “Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on the game of basketball is still felt today. He consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play and saw possibilities in the game that others often did not.”
At Golden State, Nelson’s “We Believe” Warriors led by Baron Davis upset Nowitzki and the top-seeded Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, becoming the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in a seven-game series. In his final season, Nelson mentored rookie Stephen Curry in 2009-10. “One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson. The story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court,” Curry said. Davis added: “When I think of Nellie, I’ll always think of the ‘We Believe’ team and our incredible run in 2007.”
Nelson retired as the NBA’s career coaching wins leader with 1,335, just ahead of Lenny Wilkens’ 1,332. Nelson kept that top spot for nearly 12 years before his close friend and now-retired San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich passed him in March 2022. The report also notes that nelson’s son, Donnie, joined his father as an assistant coach with the Mavericks in 1998, later became general manager and remained with the organization until 2021. The report also notes that so much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game.”. The report also notes that he had an immeasurable impact on the sport and will go down as one of the greatest minds in the history of the game.”. The report also notes that and Nellie was a huge part of making it possible.”, that time in my life and career was truly special.
