Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson celebrates with his team after breaking the record for career coaching victories after the Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 in an NBA basketball game April 7, 2010, in Minneapolis. It was Nelson’s 1,333rd win, moving him past Lenny Wilkens.
Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson celebrates with his team after breaking the record for career coaching victories after the Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 in an NBA basketball game April 7, 2010, in Minneapolis. It was Nelson’s 1,333rd win, moving him past Lenny Wilkens.
Don Nelson, a five-time NBA champion in his playing career and a Hall-of-Fame coach who revolutionized professional basketball with his innovative ideas — and had two captivating runs with the Golden State Warriors — died on Sunday. He was 86.
Nelson, the second-winningest coach in league history with 1,335 victories, was ahead of his time on several fronts. He espoused a position-less style heavy on players who could shoot from the perimeter and space the floor. This often meant lineups without a big, traditional center.
Nelson also invented the point-forward position (originally with Paul Pressey of the Milwaukee Bucks), in which a player other than the point guard initiates the offense. The Warriors essentially embrace this concept with Draymond Green, even if Stephen Curry usually dribbles the ball downcourt.
In the Warriors’ press release on Nelson’s passing, current head coach Steve Kerr honored his historic impact, stating, “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. So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game.”
Warriors head coach Don Nelson talks with Warriors Al Harrington (3) during a time out in the 1st half. The Golden State Warriors hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena in Oakland April 15, 2007.
Warriors head coach Don Nelson talks with Warriors Al Harrington (3) during a time out in the 1st half. The Golden State Warriors hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena in Oakland April 15, 2007.
Nelson made a direct impact on the Warriors long before their recent run of championships. He served as Golden State’s head coach from 1988-95 and again from 2006-10, enjoying success even if the Warriors didn’t reach the conference finals on his watch.
Most memorably, Nelson presided over the entertaining Run TMC teams of the early 1990s, featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. Those Warriors teams pushed the pace, drained outside shots and often tormented bigger opponents.
“He was a game changer,” Mullin once said of Nelson. “You can’t say that about many people. He was like having another great player who was on the bench and could help you win. He was a difference maker, one of the best of all time.”
“Don Nelson meant so much to me, both as a coach and as a person,” Hardaway said in Sunday’s statement from the team. “Nellie believed in me from the beginning and gave me the confidence and freedom to play my game. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me and the special years we shared with Run TMC.”
In his second stint in Oakland, Nelson helped engineer an epic playoff upset in 2007. That’s when the “We Believe” Warriors of Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson — the No. 8 seed in the West — toppled No. 1 seed Dallas in the first round.
Former Golden State Warriors’ Jason Richardson, Kelenna Azubuike, Don Nelson and Stephen Jackson are introduced during a Warriors’ NBA game against Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Feb. 21, 2019.
Former Golden State Warriors’ Jason Richardson, Kelenna Azubuike, Don Nelson and Stephen Jackson are introduced during a Warriors’ NBA game against Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Feb. 21, 2019.
Nelson also had a hand in the franchise-changing decision to select Curry with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Nelson coached him for one season before the Joe Lacob/Peter Guber ownership group took over, and replaced Nelson with one of his assistants, Keith Smart.
Curry commented in the team’s release, “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.”
Of course, Nelson’s time with the Warriors included loud splashes of controversy. He infamously clashed with rookie power forward Chris Webber in 1993-94, leading to Webber’s trade to Washington in November ’94 for Tom Gugliotta and three future first-round draft picks.
Three years earlier, Nelson made another widely criticized deal — acquiring forward Billy Owens from Sacramento for Richmond, a future Hall of Famer (plus Les Jepsen and a future second-round draft pick).
Dallas Mavericks head coach Don Nelson, left, listens to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban as they watch the team warm up before the start of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies in Dallas, March 1, 2003.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Don Nelson, left, listens to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban as they watch the team warm up before the start of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies in Dallas, March 1, 2003.
Nelson himself was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012. He spent 31 seasons as a head coach in the NBA — with the Bucks, Warriors, Knicks, Mavericks and Warriors again — and made a habit of turning around lousy teams.
They usually posted winning records with Nelson, but he never guided a team to the NBA Finals. He reached the conference finals three times with Milwaukee.
“I like to build things,” Nelson told KNBR during a 2012 interview. “What I did was go to bad teams and make them better, and they have a chance to win after that.”
Donald Arvid Nelson was born on May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Mich. He grew up on a farm in rural Illinois, then starred as a 6-foot-6 forward at Rock Island High School and later at the University of Iowa.
Boston Celtics basketball player Don Nelson in 1975.
Boston Celtics basketball player Don Nelson in 1975.
The Chicago Packers (who soon became the Zephyrs) took him with the first pick in the third round of the 1962 NBA draft. Nelson needed some time to find his footing in the pros; he played one unspectacular season in Chicago, was claimed on waivers by the Lakers and then spent two more pedestrian years in Los Angeles.
But then Nelson joined the mighty Boston Celtics in October 1965, instantly changing the trajectory of his career. He fit perfectly into Boston’s ongoing dynasty, helping the Celtics win five championships in his 11 seasons with the franchise.
Don Nelson Celtics jersey from Ricky’s.
Don Nelson Celtics jersey from Ricky’s.
Nelson averaged 11.4 points during his time in Boston, including a career-high 15.4 in 1969-70. He played in all 82 regular-season games six times, including five consecutive seasons from 1967-68 through 1971-72. The Celtics retired his No. 19 jersey.
In statement from the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver said Nelson "revolutionized NBA basketball through his fearlessness, ingenuity and deep conviction. ... He brought an unmistakable personality to everything he did, and his impact on our sport will continue to be felt for generations."
Nelson spent most of his post-coaching retirement at his home in Maui, where he owned several pieces of property. He enjoyed playing golf and poker and watching NBA games — especially those involving the Warriors — on television.
He returned to Oracle Arena in February 2019 when the Warriors honored his “We Believe” team. That was the night Nelson gave a memorable answer when asked how he was keeping busy in Maui.
“I’ve been smoking some pot,” he said. “But I never smoked when I played or coached. It’s new to me. … It’s more legal now than ever, so I’m enjoying that.”
Who they are
Ron Kroichick is a senior sports enterprise reporter who has worked at the Chronicle since 1995. He writes features on the Warriors during the NBA season, and various other topics — from baseball and the NFL to college football and basketball — the rest of the year. He’s also the Chronicle’s golf writer, covering the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and all major championships in Northern California. Kroichick’s work has been honored numerous times, including with a first-place award from the Associated Press Sports Editors and by the Golf Writers Association of America and California Newspaper Publishers Association. He also teamed with Lance Williams to produce a series of award-winning investigative stories examining the 49ers’ political influence in the city of Santa Clara. Kroichick graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with an English degree.
How to reach Ron