The vibrancy of Don Nelson remains unmatched. Nelson remains memorable from that era, for things like bringing his little dog to practice to drinking beer during scrimmages. But when his players like Matt Barnes recall stories about him, they sound surprised to discover his lighthearted side. While on Podcast P with Paul George, Barnes recalled one incident from the iconic ‘We Believe’ era of the Warriors. That included a visit to their coach’s penthouse, meeting one of his celebrity friends, and hanging out with Nelson. Barnes seems to still be in disbelief about what he walked into.

Nelson put the players to task during the day and invited them over to relax in the evening. Stephen Jackson, who was on the same show, lived in the same building as their coach. Once, Nelson had a party going on and Barnes initially pre-partied with Jackson before heading to the coach’s penthouse.

“And as soon as we walk in… this is our coach by the way…” who happens to tell Barnes and Jackson, “Fellas, Woody’s in the back rolling joints.” That’s Woody Harrelson, the Oscar-nominated A-lister and one of Don Nelson’s famous friends. He’s only one of the most well-known personalities in Nelson’s celebrity social circle and both spend most of their time in Hawaii. But Barnes and Jackson were stunned by the coach’s invitation because this probably didn’t happen often during their career.

They were far more taken aback that Nelson didn’t care about anyone finding out. The NBA was stricter with players using m*rijuana back then and their wariness was understandable. But since it’s their coach who permitted it, “We’re back there smoking joints with Woody Harrelson, bro,” Barnes confirmed on the podcast. That wasn’t the only peak “Original” Don story he had about him.

Matt Barnes’ memories of his coach

Before he won an NBA championship with the Warriors, Matt Barnes had the first of two stops in Golden State from 2006 to 2008 along with Stephen Jackson. Working under Coach Don Nelson must have been fun because Barnes described him as “Dope.” He called the Dubs early, made them work out, and was serious about scrimmage. He wanted to leave the fun and games for the night.

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The ‘We Believe Warriors’ were dubbed that for their run in 2007 that brought the down-and-out franchise out of oblivious. They made their first playoff appearance by eliminating the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks. That’s when celebrities wanted to party with this team. Since the game was in Oakland, Nelson’s famous friends weren’t too far off. Meeting Woody Harrelson was one of the highlights, along with hanging out with Snoop Dogg.

Though he once gave him the cold shoulder before he was traded out of Golden State, these days Barnes enjoys visiting him in Maui to hang out.

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