How Iowa Helped Build Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Don Nelson

Legendary basketball coach Don Nelson died on August 9th at the age of 86. He's known and respected by basketball fans far-and-wide, but he's a name Iowans especially should know.

Nelson's basketball career began in the Quad Cities as a high school player for Rock Island High School before taking his talents to the University of Iowa, where he played from 19659 - 1962. A third-team All-American in 162, a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, and the team's MVP from 1960 - 1962, there's argument to be made that Nelson is on Iowa's all-time starting five.

READ MORE: Iowa Native Part of NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder

Don Nelson was Already Great as a Player Before He Transitioned into Coaching:

Don Nelson racked up 1,522 points during his illustrious Hawkeye career, averaging 21.2 points in 72 career games. He was the program's all-time leading scorer upon his departure to the NBA, where he was drafted by the Chicago Zephyrs (now the Washington Wizards) in the third round of the 1962 NBA Draft. He went on to win five NBA championships with the Boston Celtics.

50 years after leaving Iowa for the NBA, in 2012, Nelson returned to Iowa City to receive his bachelor's degree in physical education, per Hawkeye Sports.

Nelson's Most Heralded Contributions Came as a Head Coach:

Despite his accomplished playing career, Nelson is most remembered as one of the all-time great coaches in NBA history. From 1976 - 2010, Nelson was a head coach in the league in some capacity, most notably for the Golden State Warriors (1988 - 1995, 2006 - 2010).

Nelson is credited with creating the offensive strategy known as "Nellie Ball," a play on his nickname. It's a style-of-play that's easy to recognize in the modern NBA. It relies on smaller, more athletic players capable of outrunning their opponents and playing with an increased tempo. The modern equivalent of Nellie Ball is known as "small ball," and involves a large number of three-point shots attempts. Nelson coached the Warriors during Stephen Curry's rookie year, and while he wasn't the team's skipper when the team went on to become a dynasty in the 2010s, the principles of Nellie Ball still played a role in their championships.

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Nelson is the second all-time winningest coach in NBA history. He held the record for most wins (1,335) for 12 seasons until former San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich passed him in 2022. Nelson is only one of three coaches to be named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1983, 1985, and 1992). If that's not enough hardware for the trophy case, Nelson also coached Dream Team II to a Gold Medal in the 1994 World Championships. However, he never won an NBA championship as a head coach.

Don Nelson was inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989, and later, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. Read more about the late basketball legend whose basketball career began in Iowa on Hawkeye Sports' website.