Don Nelson, a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and five-time NBA champion, died Sunday at the age of 86.
“On Sunday morning our beloved husband, dad, grandfather and great-grandfather Don Nelson peacefully went to be with the Lord, surrounded by his loving family,” his family said in a statement. “Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories.”
After rising to All-American status at the University of Iowa, Nelson was the No. 17 overall pick in the 1962 NBA Draft for the now-defunct Chicago Zephyrs. After brief stints in Chicago and with the Los Angeles Lakers, Nelson found his home for the remainder of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. As a role-playing forward for the Celtics, Nelson won titles in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 1976, averaging 11.4 points and 5.2 rebounds across his entire Boston tenure.
Despite those five championships, Nelson made his true mark on the game after transitioning to coaching. He became an assistant coach under Larry Costello with the Milwaukee Bucks, but was quickly elevated to the top job after Costello was fired. He held that job for more than a decade, winning 540 regular-season games. He never reached the NBA Finals with the Bucks, but won Coach of the Year twice for his efforts.
After Milwaukee, Nelson helmed the “Run TMC” Golden State Warriors for seven seasons, the New York Knicks for one, and then the Dallas Mavericks for eight years. Following that Dallas stint, he would eventually return to Golden State and lead the Warriors to one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, just the second series in which a No. 8 seed (his Warriors) took out a No. 1 seed (his former team, the Mavericks). At the time, his son, Donnie Nelson, was the general manager of those Mavericks and would eventually build their 2011 championship team.
His final season as an NBA head coach would be the 2009-10 campaign, Stephen Curry’s rookie year with Golden State. He was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame two years later in 2012. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest regular-season coach in NBA history at 1,335 victories. He has since been surpassed only by Gregg Popovich.
Though Nelson never won a championship as an NBA head coach, he is widely regarded as one of the most innovative offensive tacticians in league history. His approach, nicknamed “Nellie Ball,” helped pioneer modern offensive strategy.
He was one of the first coaches to deploy a “point forward” in Paul Pressey with the Bucks, allowing Milwaukee to set up mismatches by putting the ball in the hands of a bigger player. His Warriors teams were known for their blistering speed, finishing in the top five in the NBA in pace in each of Nelson’s seasons at the helm.
With the Mavericks, Nelson shepherded the early careers of Dirk Nowitzki, the first superstar 3-point shooting big man the league had ever seen, and Steve Nash, who would later become a central figure in the NBA’s pick-and-roll revolution under Mike D’Antoni. His Mavericks teams, like his Warriors teams, were almost always near the top of the league in 3-point attempt rate and offensive rating.
The same was true upon his return to Golden State, where one of his last and most significant innovations, small-ball, led to one of the greatest upsets in playoff history. Golden State regularly played forwards like Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington at center in its legendary upset over the 67-win Mavericks, a strategy that not only became common around the league in the years that followed, but even helped build a dynasty for those same Warriors, as Draymond Green would later become perhaps the most successful small-ball center in NBA history.
“‘Nellie’ was one of the most innovative and influential coaches in NBA history and an iconic figure in Warriors history,” the team said in a statement on Sunday. “He was a true basketball visionary who saw the game differently and was never afraid to challenge conventional thinking. 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. On behalf of the entire Warriors organization, we offer our sincere condolences to his wife, Joy, his family, and countless friends.”
When the NBA named its top 10 coaches in history in 1996, Nelson was the only one chosen without a championship ring. He is the rare coach whose impact on the sport transcends wins and losses and is still felt more than a decade after coaching his final game.