{"id":2085273,"date":"2026-08-09T21:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2085273"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:07:21","slug":"dirk-nowitzki-stephen-curry-luka-doncic-nba-world-mourn-loss-of-don-nelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2085273","title":{"rendered":"Dirk Nowitzki, Stephen Curry, Luka Don\u010di\u0107, NBA world mourn loss of Don Nelson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As news of Don Nelson\u2019s death spread Sunday, tributes rushed in from former players, colleagues, teams and executives for the longtime NBA coach.<\/p>\n

Mark Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Stephen Curry and NBA commissioner Adam Silver were among the many to express their love and appreciation after Nelson\u2019s family revealed he died Sunday morning at 86<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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One of the winningest coaches in NBA history and a five-time champion as a player with the Boston Celtics, Nelson had a profound impact on the league over more than five decades. And that impact could be seen in the many testimonials that hit social media Sunday, including one from Nowitzki that credited Nelson for changing his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t just draft me. You believed in me,\u201d Nowitzki wrote Sunday\u00a0in a post on X<\/a>. \u201cYou saw things in my game before I ever 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

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Don Nelson\u2019s success as a Hall of Fame Coach is so vast, that it could overshadow his playing career, but it would be a mistake to do so. A favorite of Red Auerbach\u2019s, \u201cNellie\u201d was a tough and reliable all-around player whose tenacity and ability to \u201cthink the game\u201d was on full\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/cWJOIxso3c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nelson was the head coach for four franchises during his NBA coaching career that spanned 31 seasons. He spent 11 seasons each with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors, as well as eight seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. Nelson also coached the 1995-96 season with the New York Knicks. As a player, Nelson spent 11 of his 14 seasons with the Boston Celtics. He played his rookie season with the Chicago Zephyrs (1962-63), then spent the next two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball through his fearlessness, ingenuity and deep conviction,\u201d Silver said in a statement released by the NBA. \u201c\u2026 He brought an unmistakable personality to everything he did, and his impact on our sport will continue to be felt for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Mavericks issued a statement<\/a> Sunday afternoon, calling Nelson \u201ca true original\u201d whose impact on the game \u201cwill endure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cNellie helped transform this franchise, bringing an innovative spirit, a belief in doing things differently and, most importantly, a winning culture to Dallas,\u201d Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said in the statement. \u201cHis influence can be seen throughout Mavericks history and across the NBA today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson coached in Dallas from 1997 to 2005, and was instrumental in the Mavericks acquiring Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in separate draft-night trades in 1998.<\/p>\n

Luka Don\u010di\u0107 didn\u2019t play for Nelson in Dallas, but the Los Angeles Lakers guard, who spent seven seasons with the Mavericks before being traded to Los Angeles, was a fan of the coach and how he promoted international players.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a sad day for basketball with the passing of Don Nelson.<\/p>\n

I have so much respect for him and everything he did for the game, especially the way he believed in international players. I\u2019m grateful for the time I spent with him.<\/p>\n

Thinking of the entire Nelson family today. I\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/GqIobWNB9i<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (@lukadoncic) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nelson got started as a coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, winning two of his three NBA Coach of the Year awards while leading the franchise\u00a0to seven consecutive division titles in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend our deepest sympathies to Nellie\u2019s family, friends, former players, colleagues, fans and all who knew him,\u201d the Bucks\u2019 statement read<\/a>. \u201cHe will always be a treasured part of Bucks history and one of the most influential figures the game has ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Warriors organization called him \u201cone of the most innovative and influential coaches in the history of the NBA.\u201d Several players past and present shared their thoughts on the legendary coach, including Stephen Curry.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson,\u201d Curry said in a statement. \u201cThe story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe taught me a lot during our one season together, and I\u2019ll never forget the night he became the winningest coach in NBA history in Minnesota. We were so happy for him. He had an immeasurable impact on the sport and will go down as one of the greatest minds in the history of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson coached Run TMC \u2014 the high-scoring trio of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin \u2014 at Golden State from 1989-91. Hardaway said Nelson was \u201cahead of his time and there was nobody else like him.\u201d Richmond appreciated Nelson\u2019s personality and passion and said he \u201cmade the game fun.\u201d Mullin talked about how Nelson made an impact on his life \u201cthat went far beyond basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe cared about me as a person first, and I\u2019ll never forget the support, honesty and belief he showed me during a difficult time in my life,\u201d Mullin said. \u201cWe shared so much together over the years, and I\u2019ll always be grateful for the role he played in my life and career. Nellie was more than a coach to me; he was someone who truly cared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Steve Kerr,\u00a0\u201cHe consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play and saw possibilities in the game that others often did not. So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game. His impact on the Warriors is just as significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others from around the basketball world also sent their condolences while praising Nelson as a coach.<\/p>\n

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During days as a college coach & short time in @NBA<\/a> had many chats with DON NELSON & he was always super to talk basketball with \u2013 he loved the @NBA<\/a> \u2013 May he RIP!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dick Vitale (@DickieV) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Nellie almost brought me to Dallas in 2002 when I was a restricted free agent. We’d nod and check in with each other here and there over the years after that. It was always love. <\/p>\n

As far as hoops, he saw stuff on a basketball court that the rest of us wouldn’t catch onto for\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Redd (@MichaelRedd_) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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We mourn the loss of former Hawkeye Don Nelson.<\/p>\n

His legacy will forever be a part of the Hawkeye family. \ud83d\udc9b pic.twitter.com\/V9FQ3I824c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Hearts are heavy at the Nasmith Basketball Hall of Fame as we remember Don Nelson, who left an indelible mark on the sport of basketball as a player, coach, and general manager.<\/p>\n

Nellie is still the only person to win multiple NBA championships as a player and then win over 1,000\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/T2iqwe0pjR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As news of Don Nelson\u2019s death spread Sunday, tributes rushed in from former players, colleagues, teams and executives for the longtime NBA coach. Mark Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Stephen Curry and NBA commissioner Adam Silver were among the many to express their love and appreciation after Nelson\u2019s family revealed he died Sunday morning at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2085273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2085273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2085273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2085273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2085273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}