Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, passed away on Sunday.

Nelson, who won five NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, was 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,” a statement read.

“Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories,” it continued.

ESPN shared further:

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.

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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.

“The Celtics extend our deep condolences to Nelson’s family, loved ones, and everyone he touched through his rich and impactful life in basketball and beyond,” the Celtics said in a statement.

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.

“Don Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball through his fearlessness, ingenuity and deep conviction. He spent nearly 50 years in the NBA – winning five championships as a player with the Boston Celtics before building one of the most successful and pioneering coaching careers in league history. He brought an unmistakable personality to everything he did, and his impact on our sport will continue to be felt for generations,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

“I send my deepest condolences to Don’s family and many friends throughout our league,” he added.

Although a cause of death has not been shared, Nelson reportedly suffered a stroke about three weeks ago.

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Nelson was a central figure in helping resurrect a Mavericks franchise that went 10 straight seasons without a playoff appearance between 1990 and 2000. In 1998, he was instrumental in Dallas acquiring Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in separate draft-night trades, moves that set the stage for the Mavs to become one of the NBA’s highest-scoring and most exciting teams of the early 2000s. The Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals in 2003, and Nelson stepped down two years later with 18 games left in the 2004-05 season.

“You didn’t just draft me. You believed in me,” Nowitzki wrote Sunday in a post on X. “You saw things in my game before I ever realized I could do them. I’ve said it a million times and I will always say it: I don’t think my career could have turned out how it did without you being my first coach and giving me the freedom to play my game. I can only say THANK YOU. For everything.”

While none of the teams he coached won an NBA title, Nelson had 18 playoff appearances and a 75-91 career postseason record. Among his biggest postseason triumphs was his “We Believe” Warriors’ first-round upset of the very same Mavericks he coached just two seasons earlier.

Dallas entered that 2007 postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but Nelson’s eighth-seeded Warriors ousted them in six games before eventually falling to the Utah Jazz in the second round. It was the highlight of Nelson’s second stint with Golden State, where his coaching career eventually ended after the 2009-10 season.

“Nellie left an indelible mark on our franchise with his approach to the game,” a statement from the Warriors read. “From the Run TMC era to the ‘We Believe’ team in 2007, his teams captivated Bay Area basketball fans and created some of the most memorable moments in Warriors history.”

 

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