Don Nelson is going into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Nelson is a three-time coach of the year and the NBA’s winningest coach. He started his career with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1978 after a successful playing career. The Celtics retired his jersey number 19.
Nelson served two stints with the Golden State Warriors from 1988 to 1995 and again from 2006 to 2010. And he had some ups and downs in those years. He developed the run and gun style during the Warriors “Run TMC” years with Tim Hardway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. But years later trouble between Nelson and number one pick Chris Webber forced the team to trade Webber after just one season with Golden State.
After Nelson returned in the middle of the 2006 season the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. They upset the top seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. A year later Nelson led the Warriors to 48-30 record. The team’s best since 1993-1994. Nelson resigned shortly after Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team in 2010. He has not coached since.
