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Nellie's response when I pointed out to him that the Knicks have a head coaching vacancy and asked if he has any interest in returning to Madison Square Garden: "Well, I'll tell you what, I enjoyed New York more than people think. I mean, I just loved it there when I was there, but I wasn't there very long. I got sideways with [Patrick] Ewing because there was a time when Shaquille [O'Neal] was being talked about to wind up with the Lakers. I had coached Shaq on the USA team [at the 1994 World Championships] and I found out that he might also come to New York — those were the two areas he was looking at. If the L.A. thing didn't work out, he liked the idea of being in New York — in the big city. I mentioned that in a private meeting with the owner and with the GM. And it wasn't long before it got back to Ewing. It pretty much ended our relationship when he found out about it."
"It was tough for a while in Dallas," Nelson said of his first few years in charge, before the Nowitzki/Nash/Michael Finley trio blossomed during the first full season of Cuban's ownership in 2000-01. "People though I was a mad scientist. They may have been right."
Don Nelson on Mavs trading away Luka Doncic: 'My philosophy was to always honor the great players, not trade them away'
Scott Agness: Don Nelson shares that he’s wearing Luka shoes for this special moment “in protest of the trade.” He said the Mavs made a tremendous mistake. “My philosophy was to always honor the great players - not trade them away.”
Marc J Spears: Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson said @paulpierce34 was his “favorite player” in the 1998 NBA Draft, but his son made sure they kept to their commitment @swish41 to select him at ninth instead. Pierce was selected 10th by the Celtics.
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David Aldridge: Don Nelson was asked about his small-ball philosophy. “When I was in Boston, at practice, we always played a game: bigs against smalls. And when we played full court, the smalls always won. The bigs never won. When we played half court, the bigs always won.”
Scott Agness: Don Nelson is the recipient of the 2025 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be honored tonight at Game 2. Rick Carlisle, president of the coaches association: "History has already reflected Don Nelson’s staggering contributions as a cutting-edge innovator and visionary of the NBA game. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, he made teams adjust to historic pace, liberal 3-point shooting, inverted offense, and disruptive defensive schemes. All this while establishing himself as one of the most compelling personalities in all of professional sports. I’m certain that Chuck Daly would agree that our beloved ‘Nellie’ is most deserving of this prestigious recognition."
Don Nelson named Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award winner
Nelson, you see, is the 2025 winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award presented annually by the National Basketball Coaches Association, league sources say. NBCA president Rick Carlisle comes to the NBA Finals every year to hand-deliver the award to its honoree before Game 2 ... but he'll have to do so this time while coaching Haliburton and the Pacers in the Finals. "I think it's one of the best honors I ever had," Nelson said this week upon returning from his Hawaii residence to the mainland. "I'm very proud to get it. "I haven't had shoes on for six years. And I haven't been on a plane for about seven. But I figured that this would be something I should probably be there for."
Surely you haven't forgotten the highly fortuitous l-o-n-g two that Haliburton drained to force overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden … his stepback hoist at the regulation buzzer that bounced straight up into the air off the back of the rim before dropping straight back through. It was the NBA's modern-day homage to Don Nelson. "I thought for sure the announcers would say something about it because it was very similar," Nelson told me the other day, reflecting on the decisive Game 7 shot he sank in the 1969 NBA Finals. "But they didn't mention it. It was kind of funny to me because that's the first thing I thought about. "His shot was a lot longer and it went way higher than mine though," Nelson added with a laugh.
Jorge Sierra: Jalen Brunson passed all these players in playoff scoring tonight: Vince Carter George Gervin Anthony Davis George Hill Michael Cooper Don Nelson Paul Millsap He's No. 110 all-time now.
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“Now, this (was) in the ’70s. So I know there are players out there. So, in ’88, my first year, when Larry (Brown) brought me in as an assistant, I asked Bob Bass, who was the GM, I want to go to Cologne, Germany, to see the Final Four in Europe. Imagine, you walk into the food room. The only other NBA coach who’s there is Don Nelson (then with the Warriors), trying to sign Šarūnas (Marčiulionis). “I’m scrambling around. Here’s this Yugoslavian team. (Vlade) Divac is the center. Dino Radja is the four man. (Zarko) Paspalj is the three man. (Toni) Kukoč is 18 and is the sixth man coming off the bench. (Drazen) Petrović. My gosh, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And nobody knew those guys. Except Nellie. I was busting my butt to try and get Sarunas. At the time, I was a Soviet Studies major, so I could speak Russian halfway decent then. I’d go to his room, I’d go here, I’d go there. And then, he finally said, ‘I already told Nellie that I’m coming (to Golden State).’ So, he went, I brought Zarko back. Believe it or not, Zarko and his wife and their daughter lived with me the entire year in my house.”
After joining the Spurs in the summer of 1988, as an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff, Popovich has enjoyed a 37-year career in the NBA as a coach and executive. He spent two seasons, from 1992-94, as an assistant coach for Don Nelson with the Golden State Warriors. His other 35 NBA seasons have all been in San Antonio with the Spurs. “Coach Pop’s extraordinary impact on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the game of basketball is profound,” said Spurs Managing Partner Peter J. Holt. “His accolades and awards don’t do justice to the impact he has had on so many people. He is truly one-of-one as a person, leader and coach. Our entire family, alongside fans from across the globe, are grateful for his remarkable 29-year run as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.”
"I can remember at that time, we were flying commercial, and I was sitting at the airport, and Nellie came up to me and said, 'Hey man, why you not signing the extension?'" recalled Richmond. "And I said 'Well, I just think I'm worth a little bit more than that.' He said, 'You must not want to be here.' I said, 'No, no, no. I want to be here, but I mean, you're like lowballing me my last year. I got another year on my contract.'"
Richmond played two more years in Golden State, but after that conversation with Nelson, he said his name kept coming up in the trade rumor mill. Then came the 1991-92 preseason, when Nellie played him 30 minutes versus Sacramento. He knew that something was up, so he went to Nellie's office and found out his hunch was right. "I open the door, he had the latch on the door," added Mitch. "He's sitting on the back of the window when they have the air conditioners at the back. I open the door, and I say, 'Man, don't tell me you traded me to Sacramento, bro.' He said, 'I traded you to Sacramento.' I turned right back around and left. I probably didn't speak to him to the time he came back to 'We believe.'"
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