Luka Doncic posted a tribute to Don Nelson on Sunday. The ex-Mavericks coach wore Doncic's signature sneakers in protest of the 2025 trade.
Former Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić posted a statement on X on Sunday afternoon about the death of Don Nelson. The post went up at 1:26 p.m. Central. Nelson died Sunday morning at 86, and his family's announcement came about an hour before Dončić posted.
Nelson wore Dončić's signature sneakers to a news conference in Oklahoma City in June 2025 and called him a dear friend.
"It's a sad day for basketball with the passing of Don Nelson," Dončić said. "I have so much respect for him and everything he did for the game, especially the way he believed in international players. I'm grateful for the time I spent with him. Thinking of the entire Nelson family today. I loved getting to know you, Coach."
The Oklahoma City appearance came before Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, where the National Basketball Coaches Association presented Nelson with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. The Mavericks had sent Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers four months before that.
"My philosophy was always, when you've got a great player, he's yours for a lifetime," Nelson explained.
That was Nelson's first trip off Maui in seven years. He had lived there full-time since retiring from coaching in 2010.
International players ran through most of Nelson's rosters. Šarūnas Marčiulionis, the first Soviet player in the NBA, spent five seasons in Golden State beginning in 1989, all but the last of them under Nelson. Manute Bol played two seasons for Nelson's Warriors. Dallas traded for Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash on draft night in 1998, with Nelson serving as both head coach and general manager and his son, Donnie Nelson, working as an assistant coach. Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player in the NBA when he debuted for the Mavericks in April 2001, and Nelson introduced him at his first news conference in Dallas.
Nelson accumulated a 339-251 record over eight seasons with Dallas and stepped down in March 2005. Over his 31-season career spanning Milwaukee, Golden State, New York, and Dallas, he achieved a total of 1,335-1,063 wins. He retired in 2010 as the NBA's all-time wins leader, a record he held until Gregg Popovich surpassed him in March 2022.
Donnie Nelson stayed in Dallas and ran the front office through 2021. He was in the job in 2018, when the Mavericks acquired Dončić on draft night. Atlanta selected Dončić third overall and sent him to Dallas for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick.
Dončić won Rookie of the Year in 2019 and made five All-NBA first teams with the Mavericks. He carried Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals against Boston. The February 2025 trade returned Anthony Davis, and Dončić averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 28 games for the Lakers the rest of that season.
Nelson moved back to Texas around the end of 2025 and accepted the Naismith Legacy Award at a ceremony in North Texas in June. He was a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
