Five-time NBA champion, coaching legend Don Nelson dies at 86

Don Nelson, who won the second-most games of any coach in NBA history and five NBA titles as a player with the Boston Celtics, died on Sunday, his family announced. He was 86. Nelson was a member of NBA championship teams with Boston from 1966 to 1976 and the Celtics retired his jersey number 19. As a coach, Nelson finished with a record of 1,335-1,063, what had been an NBA record until Gregg Popovich passed him in 2022 in stints with Golden State, Milwaukee, New York and Dallas from 1976 to 2010. “Don Nelson revolutionized NBA basketball through his fearlessness, ingenuity and deep conviction,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

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