Why Warriors great Don ‘Nellie’ Nelson was more than a coach with Golden State

Why Warriors great Don ‘Nellie’ Nelson was more than a coach with Golden State originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – To the NBA at large, Don Nelson was a Hall of Fame coach known for innovative strategies, savvy business acumen and a unique personality.

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To those who played for him during his two terms as coach of the Warriors, Nelson was all that and more. He was their life force, their lifeline and the life of the party.

“I mean,” Matt Barnes said Tuesday night, “I may not be here if it wasn’t for Nellie.”

It was “Nellie Night” at Chase Center, an evening dedicated to the memories of the man who passed away on Aug. 9 at age 86. Nelson coached the Warriors for seven seasons (1988-95) and after 10 years coaching the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, returned to Golden State in 2006 for four more seasons by the Bay.

Nelson was a brilliant coach, but those under his tutelage also pay a debt to the man for things he did not only regarding basketball, but also on a personal level.

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“I was bouncing around a little bit at that point in my career,” said Barnes, who joined the Warriors as a free agent in October 2006. “Baron Davis called me one day. I was in (Sacramento). We were having a pickup game at the (Oakland) practice facility. I went out there, played well. I didn’t know Nellie was watching.

“He came down, smelling like cigars. I don’t know if it was beer or (Scotch) that I could smell. One of the two. He put his arm around me, said, ‘Son, where are you going to camp?’ I was like, ‘S–t, coach, I don’t know.'”
Barnes ended up with the Warriors.

It was Nelson who, concerned about Chris Mullin’s early-career issues with alcoholism, suspended his star forward and strongly encouraged him to enter a rehab program.

Mullin recovered, becoming a five-time NBA All-Star and a member of the fabled 1992 Dream Team that blew through the Barcelona Summer Olympics with the force of a hurricane. He has been sober since 1987.

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Stephen Jackson is another of Nelson’s rehabilitation successes. He was one of the league’s troubled souls, considered a villain for his part as an…

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Publish date : 2026-10-06 21:01:00

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