The Hall of Fame visionary transformed Dallas from a league laughingstock into a powerhouse, pairing Dirk Nowitzki with an innovative style that forever changed professional basketball.
The Dallas Mavericks' transformation decades ago from one of the NBA's worst teams into a perennial contender didn't begin with Dirk Nowitzki. Don Nelson was around before any of it.
The Hall of Fame coach and former Mavs executive, who helped orchestrate the draft-night acquisition of Nowitzki and later coached Dallas back into postseason contention, died Sunday at 86 years old.
Nelson's family announced his death in a statement:
"On Sunday morning our beloved husband, dad, grandfather and great-grandfather Don Nelson peacefully went to be with the Lord, surrounded by his loving family," the statement read. "Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessings of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories."
Nelson won five championships during his 11-year playing career with the Boston Celtics before spending 31 seasons coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Mavs.
But his arrival in Dallas came at a particularly important point in franchise history.
The Mavs hired Nelson as general manager in 1997 before eventually adding head-coaching duties to his job description.
Dallas hadn't produced a winning season since 1989-90 and was approaching a decade without a playoff appearance. One year later ... the Mavs made the move that would reshape the franchise.
Dallas acquired the draft rights to Nowitzki from Milwaukee in 1998, landing a 20-year-old prospect Nelson believed could succeed in an NBA that looked considerably different from the one the 7-footer would eventually help create.
But Nowitzki wasn't the only future star Nelson coached in Dallas.
Steve Nash and Michael Finley joined him at the center of a roster that gradually pulled the Mavs out from the bottom of the Western Conference.
Dallas went 19-31 during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season before improving in each of the next four years.
By the 2000-01 NBA season ... the drought was over.
Dallas won 53 games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Just two years later, Nelson's Mavericks won 60 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Nelson stepped down as head coach during the 2004-05 season.
The icon finished his coaching career with the Warriors in 2010, compiling a 1,335-1,063 record, three Coach of the Year awards and 18 playoff appearances.
Nelson became the NBA's all-time wins leader in 2010 before Gregg Popovich surpassed him 12 years later. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
His unconventional approach also preceded many concepts that eventually spread throughout the NBA.
Nelson experimented with smaller lineups while emphasizing shooting and spacing at a time when those ideas weren't nearly as prevalent across the league.
Dallas became one of the places where those ideas took shape ... and one of the players Nelson helped bring there eventually became the greatest Maverick of all time.
