Former NBA coach Don Nelson RIP at 86

[bing101]

https://abc7news.com/post/don-nelson-second-winningest-coach-nba-history-dies-86/19652624/

I remember the Golden State Warriors had him as their coach at some point in their history.

[bing101]

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/article/former-mavericks-head-coach-don-nelson-dies-at-86-22380278.php

Here is more this time Don Nelson's legacy when he was the Mavericks Coach. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

https://abc7news.com/post/don-nelson-second-winningest-coach-nba-history-dies-86/19652624/

I remember the Golden State Warriors had him as their coach at some point in their history.

He was their coach twice. During the second stint, the Warriors became the first 8 over 1 in the best-of-7 playoff format, upsetting his former Mavericks squad.

[tchafe1978]

He also coached the Bucks in the late 1970s and through the 1980s for 11 seasons, led them to 7 straight division titles, and is the franchise's all time winningest coach.

[Max Rockatansky]

What amazes me is that somehow none of his teams got to a Finals. 

[jgb191]

What amazes me is that somehow none of his teams got to a Finals. 

The closest he came was 2003 he took his team to within two games of the Finals, maybe if Dirk remained healthy he might have overcome the Spurs and would have won the 2003 NBA Championship as a coach.

For what it's worth, he's a multi-time NBA Champion as a player.

His legacy is in the game we're seeing today....the pace & space style of play has become the norm in the NBA, the so-called "Nellie-style".  I read somewhere he also started the notorious Hack-a-Shaq defensive strategy.

Don Nelson also has to be given tremendous credit for the 2007 "upset".  I was cheering for the Mavs but I didn't think it was that huge of a shocker that the W's won.....Don knew everything about the Mavs (having coached them before) and he exploited Dirk and his team's weaknesses and completely outcoached Avery Johnson.

[Max Rockatansky]

What amazes me is that somehow none of his teams got to a Finals. 

The closest he came was 2003 he took his team to within two games of the Finals, maybe if Dirk remained healthy he might have overcome the Spurs and would have won the 2003 NBA Championship as a coach.

For what it's worth, he's a multi-time NBA Champion as a player.

His legacy is in the game we're seeing today....the pace & space style of play has become the norm in the NBA, the so-called "Nellie-style".  I read somewhere he also started the notorious Hack-a-Shaq defensive strategy.

Don Nelson also has to be given tremendous credit for the 2007 "upset".  I was cheering for the Mavs but I didn't think it was that huge of a shocker that the W's won.....Don knew everything about the Mavs (having coached them before) and he exploited Dirk and his team's weaknesses and completely outcoached Avery Johnson.

He really didn't have the roster needed to make a big playoff run until those Mavericks teams.  Even then, they still needed to mature a bit when he was the coach to be a serious contender.

[Henry]

What amazes me is that somehow none of his teams got to a Finals. 

And what amazes me even more is that Phil Jackson has less wins (even though 72 of them came in '96), but 11 championships (I still have fond memories of the 90s Bulls).

RIP to Don Nelson (who innovated small ball with Run-TMC before it became a trend in the decades that followed)