Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic have joined the basketball world in mourning the death of Don Nelson.
Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history and a prominent Mavericks figure, died on Sunday at the age of 86.
“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,” Nelson’s family said in a statement, according to long-time NBA reporter Marc Stein, who is connected closely to Dallas.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Nelson suffered a stroke a few weeks ago and had been admitted to hospice during his recovery.
“Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories,” the family statement continued.
Don Nelson passed away on Aug. 9 at 86. NBAE via Getty Images
Nowitzki wrote an emotional tribute to Nelson, who was his first and longtime NBA coach.
“Nellie… You didn’t just draft me. You believed in me,” Nowitzki wrote on X. “You saw things in my game before I ever realized I could do them. I’ve said it a million times and I will always say it: I don’t 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.”
Nelson was hired as the Mavericks’ head coach and general manager ahead of the 1997-98 season and is credited with the development of Dirk Nowitzki, controversially selected No. 9 overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, and Steve Nash, whom the Mavs acquired prior to the 1998-99 season after he flopped in Phoenix for the first two seasons of his career.
Don Nelson (center) drafted Dirk Nowitzki (41) and traded for Steve Nash (13) in 1998 while general manager and head coach of the Mavericks. NBAE via Getty Images
Doncic, who played for the Mavs from 2018 until he was infamously traded in early February 2025 to the Los Angeles Lakers, reflected on Nelson’s legacy in a social media post. Nelson was team president when Dallas traded for him on draft night.
“It’s a sad day for basketball with the passing of Don Nelson,” Doncic wrote on X. “I have so much respect for him and everything he did for the game, especially the way he believed in international players. I’m grateful for the time I spent with him. Thinking of the entire Nelson family today. I loved getting to know you, Coach.”
Before becoming one of basketball’s great coaching innovators, Nelson spent 14 seasons as an NBA player and won five championships with the Celtics.
He later became much more accomplished from the sideline.
Nelson coached 31 seasons in the NBA, leading the Bucks, Warriors, Knicks and Mavericks.
He finished with 1,335 regular-season victories, which stood as the league record until Gregg Popovich surpassed him in 2022.
Nelson remains second on the NBA’s all-time coaching wins list and was named NBA Coach of the Year three times before eventually being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Read the full article here