The Golden State Warriors unveiled a way they will pay homage to Nelson throughout the 2026-27 season.
The Golden State Warriors will honor the late Don Nelson with a commemorative stripe on their jerseys throughout the 2026-27 season, the team announced.
"Nellie" was the Warriors' head coach for 11 seasons across two stints with the team: from 1988 to 1995 and 2006 to 2010 before he retired from the sideline.
Nelson was the face behind two of Golden State's most iconic eras before Stephen Curry took over. In his first stint, Nelson coached the "Run DMC" trio of Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullen and Mitch Richmond; then, in the 2006-07 postseason, his "We Believe" team beat his former team, the MVP Dirk Nowitzki-led and top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, in the first round.
Nelson's ties with Dallas, of course, extend as deep as any team.
The Mavs have not yet announced how the franchise will honor Nelson's passing during this upcoming season. The Celtics, who have retired Nelson-the-player's No. 19 jersey, have also not made such an announcement.
Previously, the Mavericks have paid homage to franchise legends in several ways, such as Nowitzki's silhouette of his signature fadeaway still emblazoned on the courts, former players' names collaged along the out-of-bounds perimeter, and retired jerseys and specialty theme-night celebrations.
Last season, the Mavs retired Mark Aguirre's No. 24 jersey, and welcomed back the franchise's original founder, Norm Sonju, on the night when his bobblehead was given out to fans.
Nelson is credited with many of the most significant contributions to the best era of Mavs basketball, such as spearheading the 1998 draft that brought future Hall of Famers Nowitzki and Steve Nash to Dallas. The same operation, now featuring his son Donnie, took place in 2018 to draft Luka Doncic.
As a coach, Nelson earned 590 victories for the Mavericks across eight seasons from 2997-2005.
At Nelson's service in Dallas earlier this month, several former players and colleagues spoke glowingly, as one only can, about Nelson's legacy.
"We all know he’s a wheeler-dealer," said former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was offered the job in San Antonio while working with Nelson in Golden State. "I [was offered] a five-year contract that went up $50,000 each year. So, I told them I got to go see my wife and make a couple calls. Of course, Nellie was the call. I told him the deal and he said: What are you gonna do?
"I said: I love being at Golden State. But it is a pretty good deal. He said: You big dummy Popo, you’re going back there and this is how you’re going to do it. You go back and say: add $50,000 to my first year. And then, $50,000 on top of that every year, so at the end, you’ll be paid $250,000 more. That’ll pay for your house. So I made the phone call and I was like a 12-year-old. ... I finally spit it out, and in two seconds, they said: OK. Nellie had told me, they already offered you the job. They’re not going to start over again. That was very special of him.
"And he had some effect like that on all of us. He was a special guy."
