The basketball world is mourning the loss of legendary NBA coach Don Nelson. As the tributes poured in from the basketball world, Stephen Curry poured his heart into a public statement about the loss of one of the winningest coaches in NBA history.

Nelson, who was 86 years old, passed away on Sunday, July 9. Curry, who played under the Hall of Fame coach in his rookie year, revealed that Nelson's mentorship helped him become the player that he is today.

"One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson," he wrote in a statement released by the Golden State Warriors on X. "The story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court."

The Warriors drafted Curry when Nelson was the team's head coach. The legendary coach was known for being exceptionally demanding of the rookies. It was a way for him to test their resilience.

"He taught me a lot during our one season together, and I’ll never forget the night he became the winningest coach in NBA history in Minnesota. We were so happy for him," Curry added in his statement on X.

On April 7, 2010, after the Warriors' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nelson became the winningest coach in the NBA with 1,333 wins. His record of 1,335 wins remained intact until Gregg Popovich broke it in 2022. He is still second on the list of most wins by a coach.

Nelson's loss felt personal to the Warriors. Tributes flowed from everyone, including head coach Steve Kerr.

Warriors HC Steve Kerr pays tribute to Don Nelson

Warriors coach Steve Kerr also paid tribute to the legendary coach in another statement shared on X. Kerr took over the Warriors' coaching position four years after Nelson resigned in 2010.

"Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on the game of basketball is still felt today," Kerr said in his statement on Sunday, August 9. "He consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play, and saw possibilities in the game that others often did not."

Nelson introduced wild playing styles and dismantled a lot of the traditions in basketball. He introduced "Nellie Ball," where, in a high-paced game, Nelson demanded forwards to shoot 3-pointers.

The idea was to pull the bigs outside the paint and use the space to attack the paint.

"So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game," Kerr added.

Nelson also revolutionized the concept of 'point forward,' where he made his forward players make plays. It's a concept that modern NBA teams still use at a very high capacity.

Nelson won five titles as a player for the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers. He was a 3x NBA Coach of the Year and was honored with the Hall of Fame induction in 2012.

In 2025, NBCA honored Nelson with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles.

Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit