NBA greats gather in Dallas to honor Don Nelson
High-profile figures from the basketball world gathered with Don Nelson's family Thursday at a Dallas church for a celebration of life honoring the second-winningest coach in NBA history, who died Sunday at the age of 86.
Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash, who was coached by Nelson with the Mavericks for six seasons, spoke at the service. "Thank you for sharing him with all of us," Nash said, according to The Dallas Morning News. "And especially thank you for sharing him with me. Because you shared him with me, I was blessed to have a coach, a mentor and a man in my life who helped change its direction.
In 31 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Bucks, the Warriors (twice), the Knicks and the Mavericks, Nelson finished with a regular-season record of 1,335-1,063. He retired with the most coaching wins in NBA history, a mark broken by the Spurs' Gregg Popovich in March 2022.
Rick Carlisle, who passed Nelson as the winningest coach in Mavericks history, called Nelson an innovator whose "Nellie Ball" style led to three NBA Coach of the Year awards. "Terms like 'small ball, stretch-big, point-forward, positionless, cross-matching' are all common terms today. Nellie invented this stuff," Carlisle said, adding that it took years for the rest of the league to catch up to Nelson's ideas.
Nelson also won five NBA championships as a player with the Celtics, who retired his No. 19 jersey in 1978. Also speaking at Thursday's memorial were his son Donnie Nelson, players including Sidney Moncrief, Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin, and actor Owen Wilson, who submitted a video message.