NBA Coaching Great Don Nelson Dies at 86
Don Nelson, the Hall of Fame coach and five-time NBA champion as a player with the Boston Celtics, has died at the age of 86, his family announced on Sunday.
Nelson spent nearly five decades in the NBA, first making his mark as a player before building one of the league’s most influential coaching careers.
He was part of five championship-winning Celtics teams between 1966 and 1976, and Boston later retired his No. 19 jersey in recognition of his contribution to the franchise. Nelson moved into coaching in 1976 and went on to lead the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. He finished his coaching career with 1,335 victories against 1,063 defeats, a record that stood as the NBA’s all-time best until Gregg Popovich surpassed him in 2022. Although Nelson never guided a team to the NBA Finals as a head coach, he was widely regarded as one of the sport’s most inventive coaches. He won the NBA Coach of the Year award three times and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. NBA commissioner Adam Silver described Nelson as a coach who transformed the game through innovation and bold ideas, while noting his lasting contribution to the league. The Golden State Warriors, where Nelson had two coaching stints, also paid tribute to him, highlighting his influence on the franchise and his distinctive personality. Current Warriors coach Steve Kerr called Nelson a visionary whose willingness to experiment helped shape many aspects of today’s NBA. Kerr said several elements now considered standard in the modern game could be traced to Nelson’s approach.
The Celtics remembered Nelson as a dependable and intelligent player who contributed to five championship teams during his 11 seasons in Boston. Nelson also enjoyed a significant coaching tenure with Milwaukee, where he spent 11 seasons from 1976 to 1987 and won two of his three Coach of the Year awards. The Mavericks likewise honoured Nelson as an innovator whose influence extended beyond the franchise and helped shape the wider game of basketball. Nelson leaves behind a legacy as both an accomplished player and one of the NBA’s most influential coaching figures.
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