Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history and a five-time NBA champion as a player with the Boston Celtics, died Sunday. He was 86.
Nelson’s family confirmed his death in a statement but did not disclose a cause or location.
“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,” the family said.
Nelson finished his coaching career with 1,335 victories and made the playoffs 18 times in 31 seasons. He won three NBA Coach of the Year awards and recorded at least 250 victories with three franchises — the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.
He never won an NBA championship as a coach, reaching the conference finals three times with Milwaukee and once with Dallas.
Nelson became known for unconventional lineups and fast-paced offenses. He helped popularize the point-forward position and developed an offensive system that emphasized speed and shooting rather than relying heavily on traditional centers.
He credited Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach for teaching him the fast-break principles that influenced his coaching philosophy.
Nelson played 14 NBA seasons, including 11 with Boston, and appeared on five Celtics championship teams under four different coaches. After retiring in 1976, he joined the Bucks as an assistant and became head coach 18 games into the 1976-77 season after Larry Costello resigned.
Nelson coached Milwaukee for 11 seasons and won seven consecutive division titles.
His most recognizable coaching stint came with Golden State during the “Run TMC” era, when Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin formed the core of a fast-paced Warriors team.
Nelson coached the Warriors for 11 seasons over two stints. He also coached the New York Knicks for part of the 1995-96 season and spent eight seasons with the Mavericks.
During his time in Dallas, Nelson worked alongside his son, Donnie Nelson, who later became the team’s general manager. The two helped bring German teenager Dirk Nowitzki to the NBA and developed Steve Nash into one of the league’s top point guards.
Nelson returned to Golden State for his final coaching stint and guided the Warriors during the 2007 playoffs when the eighth-seeded team upset Nowitzki and the top-seeded Mavericks in the first round.
He also coached rookie Stephen Curry during the 2009-10 season.
“One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson,” Curry said in a statement released by the Warriors. “He had an immeasurable impact on the sport and will go down as one of the greatest minds in the history of the game.”
Nelson retired with the NBA record for coaching victories at 1,335, narrowly ahead of Lenny Wilkens’ 1,332. He held the record for nearly 12 years before Gregg Popovich surpassed him in March 2022.
Nelson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. The National Basketball Coaches Association honored him with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Nelson was born in Muskegon, Michigan, attended high school in Rock Island, Illinois, and played college basketball at Iowa. He later lived in Maui, Hawaii, after retiring from coaching.
