What happened to legendary NBA player and coach Don Nelson?

Don Nelson is one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, and one of the most unique personalities the game has ever seen. He dedicated his life to basketball, often mixing some creativity and ingenuity both on and off the floor. After spending nearly 50 years in the league, Nelson has retreated away from the game, with the sport being the furthest thing from his mind. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Donald Arvid Nelson was born in Muskegon, Michigan on May 15, 1940. He moved around during his childhood, as he spent his high school years in Illinois. As he was growing up, it was no sure thing that Nelson would become a top-tier athlete in the Midwest.

However, his skills and determination helped get him noticed, as Bleacher Report alluded to in a 2010 feature.

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Nelson didn’t have serious aspirations of playing professional basketball, but that changed once he arrived at the University of Iowa. He was running circles around his opponents on the freshman team, and his prowess eventually showed on the varsity squad, according to Sports Illustrated.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Nelson had a vision of becoming a coach after college, but that dream would have to wait.

Nelson was a third round draft pick of the NBA’s Chicago Zephyrs back in 1962. It took a few years for his career to get off the ground, as the two years he spent in Chicago and one year he spent in Los Angeles with the Lakers weren’t all that notable.

However, he was signed by the Boston Celtics as a free agent in 1965, and his career would take a turn for the better.

Nelson would prove to be an excellent compliment to a Boston team that had established its dominance in the 1960s. He infused youth into a roster that had aging stars, which allowed the Celtics to remain relevant in the title picture even after Bill Russell retired.

Nelson would win five titles with the Celtics in his career.

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In his mid-thirties, Nelson was able to attain the role he had in mind all along. He started as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976, and would eventually be promoted to head coach that same year.

For such a young leader, the Bucks had some impressive regular seasons during Nelson’s 11 years there.

After his tenure in Milwaukee came to an end, Nelson would coach the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks until he retired after the 2010 season.

Even though he never won a title as a coach, his longevity helped him win 1,335 regular season games, which trails only Gregg Popovich for the all-time lead.

Nelson was never afraid to do things his way as a coach. It was reported by the Toronto Star on several occasions that the coach loved to celebrate victories with a beer or two in the locker room, and often kept a six-pack at the ready for such events. He also encouraged centers to shoot three pointers, which was unheard of back in the 1980s and 1990s.

Since leaving the NBA, Nelson has made his home in Hawaii, far away from the media attention he received on a daily basis in the mainland United States. He loves being able to hear himself think in paradise, but was front and center with efforts to try and help victims of the Maui fires during the summer of 2023 according to KTVU.

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In post-retirement interviews, Nellie has told the world that he smokes a lot of marijuana, and grows his own on his property in Hawaii, according to CNN. The former NBA coach is also fond of playing poker on a weekly basis. He once told a story of a poker game he was involved with continuing even as one of the players was dying, which is an intense but fittingly wonky anecdote for Nellie.