Don Nelson, Second-Winningest NBA Coach, Dies at 86 

Nelson played 14 NBA seasons from 1962 to 1976 and spent the final 11 with Boston, where he became part of one of the league’s most successful eras. He won five championships with the Celtics and had his No. 19 jersey retired by the franchise in 1978. After ending his playing career, Nelson moved into coaching and eventually led the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. He finished his coaching career with 1,335 regular-season victories, behind only Gregg Popovich, after holding the league record for wins for nearly 12 years.

Nelson became known for unconventional tactics that challenged traditional approaches to NBA basketball, including smaller lineups and an emphasis on spacing and offensive versatility. He won NBA Coach of the Year three times and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 as a coach. His most notable postseason achievement came in 2007, when the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors defeated the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history. Nelson never won an NBA championship as a head coach, but his influence extended across several generations of players and coaches, and he received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.

Nelson’s death marks the passing of one of the NBA’s most accomplished figures as both a player and coach. His five championships as a Celtic, three Coach of the Year awards, Hall of Fame induction and 1,335 coaching victories place him among the most decorated figures in league history, while his willingness to challenge conventional basketball strategies helped shape the modern game. 

Sources: The Associated Press, ESPN, Reuters, The Guardian, CBS News and NBA.com.