Don Nelson, a five-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics as a player and one of the winningest coaches in league history, died Sunday at 86, his family announced in a statement.
“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 statement read. “Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories.”
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A cause of death was not shared, but The Dallas Morning News reported that Nelson had a stroke roughly three weeks ago.
The pioneer of “Nellie Ball,” Nelson was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012. His 1,335 career regular-season wins trail only Gregg Popovich (1,390) for the league record.
Nelson began his coaching career as an assistant in 1976 with the Milwaukee Bucks and is credited with using fast-paced offense and smaller, more athletic players to seek mismatches and outrun opponents on the court, an approach many teams adopt today. His success led to his being named to the NBA’s list of the top 10 (1996) and top 15 (2021) coaches of all time.
On April 7, 2010, with his 1,333rd victory on the sidelines, Nelson passed Lenny Wilkens to set the NBA record for most regular-season coaching wins before finishing his career with a record of 1,335-1,063, a .556 win percentage.
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Nelson served as head coach for four franchises during a 31-season NBA coaching career. That included 11 seasons each with the Milwaukee Bucks (540-344) and Golden State Warriors (422-443), as well as eight seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (339-251) and one campaign with the New York Knicks in 1995-96 that saw him fired with a 34-25 record and replaced by Jeff Van Gundy.
Nelson spent eight years as the Mavericks coach. In 1998, he was instrumental in the franchise acquiring Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in separate draft-night trades, moves that set the stage for Dallas 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. Nelson left Dallas two years later with a 339-251 record as the Mavericks coach.
While none of the teams he coached won an NBA title, Nelson had 18 playoff appearances and a 75-91 career postseason record.
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“Nellie left an indelible mark on our franchise with his approach to the game,” a statement from the Warriors read. “From the Run RMC 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.”
The Golden State Warriors mourn the passing of Hall of Fame head coach Don Nelson.
“Nellie” was one of the most innovative and influential coaches in NBA history and an iconic figure in Warriors history. He was a true basketball visionary who saw the game differently and was… pic.twitter.com/1k5piSC6xX
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) August 9, 2026
Nelson experienced championship glory in his 14-season NBA playing career, helping the Celtics hang five banners over an 11-year stint. Nelson averaged 11.1 points on 50 percent shooting and 4.8 rebounds in 134 career playoff games for the Celtics. Nelson’s among 26 players to win at least five NBA championships — 11 of those players did so with Boston — and his No. 19 jersey was retired by the franchise in 1978.
By 1965, the Celtics signed Nelson as a free agent, and his game and role grew in Boston. During his first season under new coach Red Auerbach, Nelson posted averages of 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds to help the Celtics win the 1965-66 championship. He contributed as a sixth man for a roster that included Boston legends Bill Russell, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Satch Sanders and KC Jones. In nine seasons as a Celtic, Nelson averaged at least 10 points nine times.
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Nelson was born on May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Mich. He played college ball for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1959-62. He was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989.
This story will be updated.