Basketball icon Don Nelson has died at the age of 86. As a coach, the American helped shape the NBA career of Dirk Nowitzki, among others.
Dirk Nowitzki’s first NBA coach, Don Nelson, has died. The former pro and successful basketball coach passed away at the age of 86, according to a statement from his longtime team, the Dallas Mavericks. The statement said Nelson died Sunday morning surrounded by his family. American journalist Marc Stein was the first to report the news, citing a statement from the family.
Nelson played professionally in the North American professional league from 1962 to 1976 and won five championships with the Boston Celtics. Immediately afterward, he became a head coach and remained in that role from 1976 to 2010. A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday in Dallas. A date for the funeral in Hawaii has not yet been set.
One of Nowitzki’s biggest losses
From 1997 to 2005, Nelson coached the Dallas Mavericks, overseeing Nowitzki’s early years in Texas. “Coach Nellie was perfect for me. He wanted his big players to shoot and spread the floor,” Nowitzki said of the successful coach, who also led the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, and the Golden State Warriors twice.
Nellie… You didn&39;t think my career could have turned out the way it did without you being my first coach and giving me…
— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) August 9, 2026
With the Warriors, Nelson was also responsible for one of the biggest losses of Nowitzki’s career. In 2007, the Californians faced the heavily favored Mavericks—led by star player Nowitzki—in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Nelson knew his former protégé inside and out and had him guarded by smaller defenders throughout the entire series. Dallas lost its offensive rhythm and, after 67 wins in the regular season, was eliminated completely unexpectedly with a 2–4 series loss.
No championship as a coach, but 1,355 wins
Although Nelson never won a championship as a coach, he led his teams to 1,355 regular-season victories. Only Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs (1,390) was more successful.
There’s a famous story about when Nelson, among others, traveled to Würzburg to convince the young Nowitzki to make the move to Dallas. Later, the front office in Texas threw a barbecue for Nowitzki, who would go on to find a friend and perfect teammate in Steve Nash with the Mavericks. “Dirk himself doesn’t even know yet that he’ll play a leading role here—but he’ll figure that out soon enough,” Nelson said at the time.