Background and career
Donald Arvid Nelson (May 15, 1940 – August 9, 2026) was an American professional basketball player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After an All-American career playing college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Nelson won five NBA championships playing with the Boston Celtics, with his number 19 retired by the franchise in 1978. His unique brand of basketball was often referred to as "Nellie Ball". A coaching innovator, Nelson is credited with, among other things, having pioneered the concept of the point forward, a tactic which is frequently employed by teams at every level today. He was named one of the Top 10 coaches in NBA history. On April 7, 2010, Nelson passed Lenny Wilkens for first place on the all-time NBA wins list with his 1,333rd career win. His all-time record coaching record was 1,335–1,063 (.557). Nelson held the record for the most regular season wins of any coach in NBA history until he was surpassed by Gregg Popovich in 2022. Nelson was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Donald Arvid Nelson was born on May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Michigan, to Arvid and Agnes Nelson. Nelson grew up with his family and two sisters on his grandfather's rural Illinois farm near Sherrard, Illinois. He first learned basketball shooting in the chicken yard where a spokeless bicycle wheel was nailed to the shed to make a basket. Nelson attended a one-room, six-grade, seven-student school. When his family lost the farm, the Nelsons moved to nearby Rock Island, Illinois, while Don was in middle school. His father Arvid eventually worked at the Rock Island Arsenal. Nelson attended Rock Island High School, in Rock Island, one of the Quad Cities. The Nelsons lived in downtown Rock Island on 19th street and Don would walk to school, stopping to shoot baskets at several different locations along the way. Nelson would go to the YMCA after practice and shoot more. Graduating in 1958, Nelson led the Rocks to a 47–7 record in his last two years under coach Bob Riley. He had 39 points and 20 rebounds against Moline High School and 30 points and 29 rebounds against No. 1–ranked Ottawa High School. As a junior, Nelson averaged 12.6 points as Rock Island finished 25–3. As a senior, Nelson averaged 20.2 points, leading the Rocks to a 22–4 record in 1957–58. After his senior year in high school, Nelson wasn't heavily recruited. His father did not see a future for Don in basketball and wanted him to become a watch repairman. University of Iowa Coach Sharm Scheuerman, who had graduated from Rock Island in 1952, recruited Nelson, who ultimately chose the Hawkeyes over Wheaton College and Nelson's hometown's Augustana College.
As a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) sophomore under coach Schuerman at Iowa, Nelson averaged a double-double of 15.8 points and 10.0 rebounds, as Iowa finished 14–10 in 1959–1960.
In the era when NCAA freshman weren't allowed to play varsity, Nelson was joined on the Iowa campus by future Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins in 1960. However, after playing for the freshman Iowa team in 1960–1961, Hawkins was embroiled in the 1961 college basketball gambling scandal and left Iowa. Hawkins was never charged with a crime and was later reinstated by the NBA, who had banned him. "If Connie had stayed, we would have had a great team," Nelson said. "I feel we could have edged out Ohio State my junior and senior years." In 1960–1961, Nelson averaged 23.8 points and 10.6 rebounds as Iowa finished second in the Big Ten Conference with an 18–6 record. A mass academic eligibility issue hit the team, as the other four starters were declared academically ineligible that semester, leaving Nelson as the only starter remaining. With Nelson carrying the team, Iowa rallied around him and finished 2nd in the Big 10. As a senior in 1961–1962, Nelson averaged 23.8 points and 11.9 rebounds as the Hawkeyes finished 13–11. In Nelson's years at Iowa, the Big Ten conference was full of future NBA players. Among others, Ohio State had future Hall of Fame players in John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas, along with Larry Siegfried. Indiana had a future Hall of Fame inductee in Walt Bellamy, while Purdue had future NBA All-Star Terry Dischinger. "It was a terrific training ground for the pros," Nelson said. "So many of them became stars." "It's an overused phrase, but the tougher the game got, the tougher Don played," Scheuerman said of Nelson. "He always had a lot of savvy. Don did some things you just can't coach. Some players have the body, but aren't mentally tough. Others are mentally tough, but don't have the body. Don had both." "I felt more responsibility and my teammates expected me to carry a bigger portion of the load," Nelson said of his Iowa career. "I still look back at that time as one of the highlights of my whole career. Sharm did a terrific job coaching and we played some terrific basketball." "What I remember most about it is playing for Sharm and our relationship over 50 years and how close we were and how much I loved that man," Nelson reflected in 2012 of Scheuerman, who died in 2010. "A role model certainly, but I could never duplicate that man's life because he was so special. I certainly tried. I'm certainly a better person just by knowing him and talking to him. But we spent a lot of time together over the last 50 years." Overall, Nelson averaged 21.1 points (1,522) and 10.9 rebounds (784) in his 72-game Iowa career. He left Iowa as the program's all-time leading scorer.
After his career at Iowa, Nelson was selected as the 17th draft pick in the 1962 NBA draft by the Chicago Zephyrs of the NBA. As a rookie, Nelson averaged 17 minutes, playing alongside Walt Bellamy (27.9 points), Terry Dischinger (25.5 points), Si Green, and Charlie Hardnett. Zephyrs Coach Jack McMahon was replaced by player Slick Leonard halfway through the season as Chicago finished 25–55. The Chicago Zephyrs moved to become the Baltimore Bullets after the season. Nelson played for the Zephyrs for one season averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in:an average playing time of 17 minutes per gane.
On September 6, 1963, Nelson was claimed on waivers by the Los Angeles Lakers from the Chicago Zephyrs. He played in 80 games in the 1963–64 season, but just 39 in the following season under coach Fred Schaus. In his first season, Nelson played 80 games and averaged 5.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 17 minutes per game for the Lakers, as Los Angeles finished 42–38. He saw his first playoff action, as the Lakers were defeated by the St. Louis Hawks in five games. Nelson averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in the series. In the 1964–65 season, Nelson played little, averaging 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in just six minutes per game in 39 games. The Lakers used Nelson more in the playoffs as they defeated Nelson's former team, the Baltimore Bullets in the playoffs 4–2. Nelson averaged 5.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in the series. The Lakers then faced the Boston Celtics in the 1965 NBA Finals. The Lakers lost to the Celtics in five games, as Nelson averaged 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 20 minutes per game in the series. After two seasons with the Lakers, where he averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13 minutes playing alongside Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Nelson left Los Angeles.
