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Nellie Ball


Since the turn of the decade, the NBA has evolved at the speed of light. The advent of high volume 3-point shooters, small ball and the point forward phenomenon are just a few of these. Basketball is being played at its fastest pace since the 1960s, with the “pace and space” era leading to points galore. The architects of this movement include Steph Curry and Mike D’Antoni, who have become synonymous with the evolution. However, there is one man who does not get enough credit for his role as perhaps the originator of most of these tactics. His name is Don Nelson.


Don Nelson is one the greatest coaches in NBA history. Coaching four different teams in 34 years, Nelson has the record for most wins, with 1,335. However, his lasting impact is in his style of basketball, which helped usher in a lot of the basketball tactics and playstyles we know today.

Don Nelson got his start in coaching as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. After 18 games, head coach Larry Costello resigned, and Nelson was promoted to head coach. Within four years, Nelson helped make Milwaukee a perennial championship contender. During this time, he pioneered the use of the point forward. He used players like the 6’5” Paul Pressey and the 6’7” Marques Johnson in the point forward role. Nelson would also place his center far away from the basket, pulling the opposing team’s center away and making it easier for his team to score inside. The Bucks won 50 games for seven consecutive seasons between 1980 and 1987. 

In 1988, Nelson joined the Golden State Warriors. There, he instituted a run and gun style of basketball, which would later give the Warriors the nickname “Run TMC”. This Warriors line-up consisted of three guards and two forwards, one of the first instances of small ball, run and gun line-ups being used successfully. In the 1991-92 season, Nelson won his third Coach of the Year award, after winning two with Milwaukee in 1983 and 1985. In 1995, Nelson left the Warriors and joined the New York Knicks, coaching there for one ill-fated season.

In New York, Nelson’s fast paced, offensive style heavily contrasted the Knicks’ defensive roots, and Nelson was fired in March. He would be named the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks in 1997, where he would cement his reputation as a Hall of Fame coach.

In 1998, Nelson, now the head coach and general manager, organized trades which became Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. This led to the Mavericks becoming championship contenders in the Western conference. During this time, Nelson helped Dirk Nowitzki become one of the best power forwards of all time, revolutionizing the game. However, Nelson’s Mavericks would never reach the finals, let alone win the championship. They would reach the NBA finals in 2006, a year after Nelson left, losing to the Miami Heat in a highly controversial series.

In 2006, Nelson returned to the Warriors for his last stint in coaching. In his first season back, the Warriors made the playoffs as an 8th seed in the Western Conference, where they were due to face Nelson’s old team, the one seed Mavericks and MVP Dirk Nowitzki. What followed was one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. The run and gun Warriors completely neutralized Nowitzki’s effect on defense, and players like Al Harrington guarded Nowitzki effectively on offense, leading the Warriors to a shocking upset over the Mavericks. These 2007 Warriors are immortalized in history as the “We Believe” Warriors. After being eliminated by the Utah Jazz, the Warriors would never again reach the same heights under Nelson, and after two mediocre years, he would retire the winningest coach in NBA history.

Despite his lack of championships and playoff success, Don Nelson is the precursor to most modern basketball trends and due to his many innovations, is undoubtedly the Godfather of modern basketball.

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