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Don Nelson coached NBA star Dirk Nowitzki for six seasons from 1998\u201399 through 2003\u201304 with the Dallas Mavericks [Brian Bahr\/Getty Images]\u2018Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball\u2019<\/p>\nNelson was a five-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics but is best remembered for his innovative coaching style.<\/p>\n
Published On 10 Aug 202610 Aug 2026<\/p>\n
Hall of Famer Don Nelson, the coach with the second-most wins in NBA \u200chistory, died on Sunday. He was 86.<\/p>\n
Nelson\u2019s family announced the passing of the five-time champion as a player but didn\u2019t divulge the manner \u2060of death.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOn Sunday morning our \u2060beloved husband, dad, grandfather and great-grandfather Don Nelson peacefully went to be with the Lord, surrounded by his loving family,\u201d the Nelson family statement read. \u201cThroughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his \u2060friendship and revisiting treasured memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson was the all-time leader with 1,335 regular-season coaching victories when he retired in 2010, and was only later surpassed by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (1,390). His fast style and use of smaller athletic players became known as \u201cNellie Ball\u201d.<\/p>\n
The three-time Coach of the Year didn\u2019t win \u2060any NBA titles during his 31-year overall tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks (1976-87), Golden State Warriors (1988-95, 2006-10), New York Knicks (1995-96) and Dallas Mavericks (1997-2005). But he put together 13 seasons of 50 or more wins, twice reaching 60 (once with the Bucks and once with the Mavericks).<\/p>\n
\u201c[Nelson] was a true basketball visionary who saw the game differently and was never afraid to challenge conventional thinking,\u201d the Warriors said in a statement. \u201cHis approach helped shape the game and paved the way \u200cfor generations of players and coaches who followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don Nelson coached NBA star Dirk Nowitzki for six seasons from 1998\u201399 through 2003\u201304 with the Dallas Mavericks [Brian Bahr\/Getty Images]\u2018Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball\u2019<\/p>\n
During Nelson\u2019s time with the Mavericks, the club had its eye on Dirk Nowitzki, a prospect from Germany, as the 1998 NBA Draft approached. During the draft, the Milwaukee Bucks tabbed Nowitzki with the ninth overall pick and traded him to Dallas.<\/p>\n
Nowitzki developed into a big-time star during his seven seasons under Nelson. He later led the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA title, won an MVP award and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame \u2060in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cNellie\u2026 You believed in me,\u201d Nowitzki said on social media. \u201cYou saw things in my game before I \u2060ever realized I could do them. I\u2019ve said it a million times and I will always say it: I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson was inducted into the Hall \u2060of Fame as a coach in 2012.<\/p>\n
As a player, Nelson won five NBA titles over 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n
He initially reached the NBA with the Chicago Zephyrs (1962-63) after being the third overall draft pick. \u2060He then spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before joining a loaded \u2060Boston team and was one of seven Boston players to average double digits in scoring in 1967-68. He averaged a career-best 15.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in 1969-70.<\/p>\n
In 134 career playoff games, Nelson averaged 11.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. The Celtics retired his number 19 jersey in 1978.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball through his fearlessness, ingenuity and deep conviction,\u201d \u200cNBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. \u201cHe spent nearly 50 years in the NBA \u2013 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 \u200cimpact \u200con our sport will continue to be felt for generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI send my deepest condolences to Don\u2019s family and many friends throughout our league.\u201d<\/p>\n
In college, Nelson averaged 21.1 points and 10.9 rebounds in 72 games over three seasons at Iowa.<\/p>\n
Nelson won the 2025 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award to honor his overall contributions to basketball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nelson was a five-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics but is best remembered for his innovative coaching…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[461,49,48,459,44,457,82,772,1690],"class_list":["post-852796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-basketball","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}