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Photo of Don Nelson

Don Nelson

Don Nelson is a veteran of the NBA. Player, coach, general manger, you name it, he has done it. With over forty years of experience, Nelson is the only coach to with more than 1,000 wins as a coach and holds multiple championships as a player. Through his years of serving the NBA community he has been involved in more NBA games than any other individual. Nelson is second for the most wins as an NBA coach, ever and has coached teams to over 75 playoff wins. He was the innovator of small ball offense which is now a trend that is used by teams at every level now, also referred to as “Nellie Ball”.  With Nelson’s years of experience he was named to the NBA’s Ten Best Coaches of All Time in 1996, following being named NBA coach of the year three times and coaching the 1994 Dream Team II to a gold medal. Skills, dedication, motivation, and understanding he coached three teams to over 250 wins only done by one other. His contribution and longevity has shown how diverse his knowledge is of the game. 

Enshrined

2012

Born

May 15, 1940 Muskegon, MI

Professional Career

Milwaukee Bucks Golden State Warriors New York Knicks Dallas Mavericks

Career Stats

3x NBA COACH OF THE YEAR
1983, 1985, 1992
1996 NAMED ONE OF THE
TEN GREATEST COACHES
IN NBA HISTORY
18 POSTSEASON APPEARANCES
7 CONSECUTIVE
DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
1,335 CAREER WINS
WINNINGEST COACH
IN NBA HISTORY
1 FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
GOLD MEDAL