Don Nelson, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who won five NBA championships as a Boston Celtics player, died Aug. 9, 2026, at 86, NBC Sports Bay Area reported.
His coaching innovation included “Nellie Ball,” a flexible style that used unconventional lineups to create mismatches, and the point forward, a forward who directs the offense. Nelson won NBA Coach of the Year honors three times and finished with 1,335 regular-season victories, an NBA record until Gregg Popovich passed him in 2022. He was named one of the NBA’s top 10 coaches in history.
Born May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Michigan, Nelson grew up in Illinois and became an All-American at the University of Iowa. The Chicago Zephyrs selected him 17th overall in the 1962 NBA draft, and he joined Boston in 1965. He helped the Celtics win titles in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 1976.
Nelson began coaching the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976 after retiring as a player and later led the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
