Basketball: Nowitzki's First NBA Coach, Don Nelson, Is Dead

Don Nelson, the influential coach who guided Dirk Nowitzki through his formative years in the NBA, has passed away at the age of 86. Nelson, a legendary figure in basketball, died peacefully surrounded by his family, as announced by his longtime club, the Dallas Mavericks.

Nelson's own playing career was stellar, marked by five NBA championships with the Boston Celtics between 1962 and 1976. He transitioned seamlessly into coaching, embarking on a career that spanned from 1976 to 2010, during which he amassed 1,355 regular-season wins, placing him second only to Gregg Popovich in NBA history.

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Coach Nellie was perfect for me. He wanted his big guys to shoot and space the floor.

Nowitzki, who played under Nelson with the Mavericks from 1997 to 2005, shared a heartfelt tribute. He described Nelson as "perfect" for him, emphasizing the coach's philosophy of empowering tall players to shoot and spread the floor. "You believed in me," Nowitzki wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "You saw things in my game before I was even aware I was capable of them." He credited Nelson's guidance and freedom with shaping his career trajectory.

Nelson's coaching tenure included stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and two periods with the Golden State Warriors. Notably, his Warriors team famously upset the heavily favored Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, a testament to his strategic acumen against his former protégé. A memorial service is planned in Dallas, with a date for the burial in Hawaii yet to be determined.

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You believed in me. You saw things in my game before I was even aware I was capable of them. I don't think my career would have gone the way it did if you hadn't been my first coach and given me the freedom to play my game. I can only say THANK YOU.