The NBA lost a pillar of the coaching world on Sunday with the passing of legendary coach, Don Nelson. The offensive visionary sadly passed away on Sunday at 86-years-old. Nelson began coaching in 1977 with the Milwaukee Bucks and went on to coach the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors on two occasions.
Nelson coached the Warriors from 1989 to 1995, leading Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond's "Run TMC" Warriors. Nelson returned to the Bay Area in 2006, leading the Warriors to the postseason behind Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Jason Richardson and Stephen Jackson's "We Believe" Warriors.
In his final season with the Warriors in 2009, Nelson coached future two-time Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA champion,
Steph Curry. Following Nelson's passing on Sunday, Curry paid tribute to his first NBA head coach with a heartfelt statement.
Via @warriors on X:
“One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson. The story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court. He taught me a lot during our one season together and I’ll never… pic.twitter.com/Fg1iyP9gP6
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) August 9, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Steph Curry pays tribute to legendary coach Don Nelson
