Don Nelson spent nearly 50 years in the NBA, first as a player and then as one of the league’s most unconventional and influential coaches. He passed away on Sunday at 86, leaving behind 1,335 regular-season victories, three NBA Coach of the Year awards, and a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

However, the numbers tell only part of the story. Since Nelson’s death, tributes have poured in from former players, stars, coaches, teams, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. His ideas helped shape today’s NBA (Nellie Ball): smaller lineups, faster play, more 3-point shooting, and creative defensive schemes. But Nelson’s biggest legacy may be the coaches who learned from him and carried those ideas forward.

First and foremost, Gregg Popovich

In 1992, Gregg Popovich needed a job after spending four seasons as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs under Larry Brown. Don Nelson, then coaching the Golden State Warriors, saw something in Popovich and hired him. Coach Pop spent just two seasons, from 1992 to 1994, on Nelson’s Warriors staff, but it had a lasting impact on NBA history.

Popovich returned to San Antonio in 1994 as the Spurs’ general manager and became head coach two years later. He went on to win five championships and build one of the most successful organizations in NBA history. Then, in March 2022, Popovich passed his mentor. Nelson had held the NBA’s regular-season wins record with 1,335 victories. Popovich won his 1,336th game to move ahead of him.

Don Nelson later told ESPN that when he hired Popovich, he expected Pop to learn from him. But over time, Nelson admitted, he learned more from his mentee than Popovich learned from him. The relationship grew into a close friendship.

In 2025, Nelson received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. He made the trip from Maui to Oklahoma City for the presentation during the NBA Finals. Popovich was on the committee that selected him. When Don Nelson called to tell Popovich he had won the award, Popovich replied, “I know. I’m on the board.”

Nelson joked that perhaps that was one reason he received it. Then he turned serious, calling Popovich a dear friend and one of the best friends of his life.

Del Harris: the first major branch

Long before Gregg Popovich, one of the first major branches of Don Nelson’s coaching tree grew in Milwaukee. Del Harris joined Nelson’s Bucks staff as an assistant for the 1986-87 season. It was Nelson’s final year in Milwaukee, and when he stepped down, Harris took over as head coach.

Previously, Harris had NBA head-coaching experience with Houston and established himself as a coach in his own right. After Milwaukee, he would take over the Los Angeles Lakers and won NBA Coach of the Year in 1995. His relationship with Nelson continued after Milwaukee. Harris later joined Nelson’s staff in Dallas, giving the two coaches another chance to work together.

Mike Schuler: another Don Nelson assistant who became Coach of the Year

Mike Schuler was one of the first assistants to come through Don Nelson’s Milwaukee coaching staff and earn an NBA head-coaching job of his own. Schuler joined the Bucks as an assistant in 1983 and spent several seasons working under Nelson. He later got his opportunity with the Portland Trail Blazers, taking over before the 1986-87 season. Portland responded immediately.

The Blazers went 49-33, a nine-win improvement from the previous season, and reached the playoffs. Schuler was named the 1987 NBA Coach of the Year, beating out several established coaches for the award. His connection to Nelson did not end when he left Milwaukee.

Schuler later joined Nelson again in Golden State as an assistant, making him one of the rare coaches who worked under Nelson in two different cities.

Apart from assistants, some of the most interesting branches came from players who played for him and later moved to the other side of the sideline.

Avery Johnson: player, assistant, successor

Avery Johnson’s connection to Don Nelson is one of the clearest examples of a player becoming part of the coach’s tree. Johnson played for Nelson with the Golden State Warriors during the 1993-94 season. Years later, the relationship took a different turn when Johnson joined Nelson’s Dallas Mavericks staff as an assistant.

When Nelson stepped down in March 2005, Johnson took over. He quickly turned the opportunity into one of the best coaching starts in NBA history. Dallas went 60-22 in Johnson’s first full season, and he earned the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year award. The Mavericks even reached the NBA Finals that year and followed that with a franchise-record 67 wins in 2006-07. Then came the twist.

Nelson’s eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors faced Johnson’s Mavericks in the first round. Golden State won the series 4-2, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history. The mentor had eliminated his former student.

Steve Nash: the coach on the floor

Nash was a different kind of Nelson pupil. Don Nelson coached Nash early in his Dallas career after the Mavericks acquired him in 1998 from the Suns. Nash grew into a two-time MVP, while Nelson repeatedly praised his intelligence and feel for the game. When the Canadian guard eventually became head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2020, Nelson was not surprised.

“He’s always had the brain of a coach,” Nelson said at the time, describing Nash as a coach on the floor.

Nash’s first season led to 48 wins and a sixth position in the Coach of the Year accolade.

Dave Cowens: from Nelson’s player to head coach

Dave Cowens was already an established superstar when former teammate Nelson coached him. A former MVP and NBA champion with Boston, Cowens came out of retirement and played for Nelson’s Milwaukee Bucks during the 1982-83 season.

He played 40 games before retiring for good. Cowens later became an NBA head coach with the Charlotte Hornets and the Golden State Warriors, and served as the first head coach and general manager for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Mike Dunleavy Sr. played for Don Nelson in Milwaukee before beginning his own coaching career. Dunleavy eventually became an NBA head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Los Angeles Clippers.

With the Lakers, he reached the NBA Finals, and with Portland, he reached the playoffs in all four of his seasons. Later, with the Clippers, he guided the team to the playoffs and won 47 games in 2005-06.

He took what he learned as a player from Don Nelson and developed his own approach, becoming a successful head coach in his own right.

Donnie Nelson

Last but not least, his son, Donnie Nelson, became one of the NBA’s most influential international-minded executives. He joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, when his father was coaching the team, and eventually became the franchise’s general manager in 2005.

Donnie played a major role in building the Mavericks around Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash and helped establish Dallas as a leader in international scouting. He later helped the organization acquire Luka Doncic on draft night in 2018.

Don Nelson coached the team while his son Donnie helped build its roster. Together, they gave Dallas one of the most distinctive basketball identities in the NBA.

Other prominent names that were influenced by Don Nelson include Keith Smart, Stephen Silas, Mike Schuler, Garry St. Jean, and Scott Skiles, among others. Legendary players like Dirk Nowitzki shared a tribute, and even current superstars Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic dropped an emotional note.