Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA and Mavericks history and one of basketball’s greatest innovators, died Sunday in Frisco.
Along with his 339 wins in Dallas, Nelson’s greatest legacy is his 1998 draft night acquisitions of future Naismith Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash.
Nelson, 86, moved from his longtime home in Maui to Frisco early this year, but suffered a stroke about three weeks ago, according to his family.
In 31 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors (twice), New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, Nelson finished with a regular-season record of 1,335-1,063. He retired with the most coaching wins ever, a mark that was broken by the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich in March 2022.
Nelson made 18 playoff appearances as a coach, finishing with a 75-91 postseason record.
As a player, Nelson won five NBA titles in 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics, who retired his No. 19 jersey in 1978. Overall, he played 14 seasons in the NBA.
Immediately following his playing career, Nelson joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach for the 1976-77 season. Just 15 games into that season, he was promoted to head coach after Larry Costello was fired.
From there, Nelson, who added general manager to his title the following season with Milwaukee, used an unorthodox coaching style that became known as “Nellie Ball” to put together a Hall of Fame résumé during his 31 seasons. Nellie Ball proved to be ahead of its time, utilizing smaller, more athletic players to fuel a fast-paced offense that prioritized creating mismatches through speed. It was a philosophy that had been adopted across the league long after he retired.
Nelson was a three-time winner of the NBA Coach of the Year Award (1983, ’85, ’92) but never won an NBA championship as a coach.
With Milwaukee, Nelson missed the playoffs just twice in his 11 seasons, winning seven straight Central Division titles. He never reached the NBA Finals, however, as he couldn’t overcome Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston or Philadelphia, and he resigned after the 1986-87 season.
After one season of TV analyst work, he returned to the bench with Golden State, where he spent seven seasons before he resigned midway through the 1994-95 season. He returned for a second stint with the Warriors prior to the 2006-07 season and stayed four more seasons in his final NBA stop.
“[Nelson] was a true basketball visionary who saw the game differently and was never afraid to challenge conventional thinking,” the Warriors said in a statement Sunday. “His approach helped shape the game and paved the way for generations of players and coaches who followed.
“More than anything, Don Nelson will be remembered for his authenticity, larger-than-life personality, and incredible passion for basketball, and his influence on the Warriors franchise will endure for years to come.”
Nelson accepted the coaching job with the Knicks prior to the 1995-96 season but was fired with a 34-25 record and replaced by assistant Jeff Van Gundy.
The following year, Nelson joined the Dallas Mavericks, where he helped turn around the franchise’s fortunes by working draft-day deals to acquire future Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. He coached eight seasons with the Mavericks, and his son Donnie, who served as his assistant, served as the team’s general manager before an acrimonious split in June 2021.
“We hid Dirk for several weeks before the draft,” Nelson told Sports Illustrated about Nowitzki flying under the radar while practicing with Athletes in Action in Dallas
before the 1998 draft. “We made a commitment that we were going to draft him. We just wanted to keep him from going anywhere else to work out. He was going to be ours. He was happy with that. So he hid for a week in Donnie’s basement.”
Don Nelson twice coached in the NBA All-Star Game, and he led “Dream Team II” to a gold medal at the 1994 FIBA World Championships.
After a standout college career at Iowa, Nelson broke into the NBA as a player with the Chicago Zephyrs, who selected him with the 17th overall pick in the 1962 draft. The Los Angeles Lakers claimed him off waivers before the 1963-64 season, but Nelson saw limited action. Celtics general manager Red Auerbach then came calling before the 1964-65 season, signing him as a free agent. Nelson went on to average 11.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while winning five titles during his 11 seasons in Boston.
Overall, he played 1,053 regular-season games as a small forward and power forward, averaging 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds. In 150 career playoff games, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.
