NBA-ийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн олон ялалт байгуулсан дасгалжуулагчдын нэг, “Nellie Ball” хэмээх хурдтай довтолгооны арга барилыг үндэслэгч Дон Нельсон 86 насандаа таалал төгссөнийг түүний гэр бүлээс мэдэгдлээ.
Дон Нельсон нь 1976 онд Милуоки Бакс багт туслах дасгалжуулагчаар карьераа эхлүүлж, хожим нь NBA-ийн бүх цаг үеийн шилдэг 10 болон 15 дасгалжуулагчийн жагсаалтад багтсан билээ. Тэрээр 2010 оны дөрөвдүгээр сарын 7-нд 1,333 дахь ялалтаа байгуулснаар NBA-ийн улирлын тоглолтын ялалтын дээд амжилтыг шинэчлэн тогтоож, нийт 1,335-1,063 гэсэн амжилтаар карьераа өндөрлөсөн юм. Нельсоны 1,335 ялалт нь Грегг Поповичийн 1,390 ялалтын дараа орох үзүүлэлт бөгөөд тэрээр 2012 онд Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame-д дасгалжуулагчийн хувиар багтсан байна.
Дасгалжуулагчийн хувиар аваргалж байгаагүй ч Нельсон нь тоглогчийн хувиар Бостон Сэлтиксийн бүрэлдэхүүнд 14 улирал тоглохдоо таван удаа NBA-ийн аварга болсон туршлагатай. Тэрээр 1965-66 оны улиралд багийнхаа хамт анхны аварга цолоо хүртэж байсан бөгөөд 1969 оны NBA Finals-ийн 7 дахь тоглолтод Лос Анжелес Лэйкерсийн эсрэг тоглолтын төгсгөлд торгуулийн шугамаас хийсэн шидэлт нь багийн 108-106-ийн харьцаатай ялалт болон 11 дэх аваргын цомыг авахад шийдвэрлэх үүрэг гүйцэтгэсэн юм. Түүний 19 дугаартай өмсгөлийг Бостон Сэлтикс 1978 онд мөнхөлсөн билээ.
Мичиган мужийн Маскегон хотод төрсөн Нельсон бага насаа Иллинойс мужийн ферм дээр өнгөрүүлж, улмаар Рок Айландын ахлах сургуулийг төгсөж байв. Сагсан бөмбөгийн гараагаа Иллинойс дахь фермээс эхлүүлсэн тэрээр хожим Айовагийн их сургуульд элсэж, улмаар NBA-д амжилттай тоглож, дасгалжуулагчийн хувиар лигийн түүхэнд томоохон ул мөр үлдээсэн билээ.
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Don Nelson, a five-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and one of the winningest coaches in league history, died Sunday at the age of 86, his family announced in a statement. A cause of death was not shared.
“On Sunday morning our beloved husband, dad, grandfather and great-grandfather Don Nelson peacefully went to be with the Lord, surrounded by his loving family,” the statement read. “Throughout his last week, friends and family encircled him with love, sharing the blessing of his friendship and revisiting treasured memories.”
The pioneer of “Nellie Ball,” Nelson, who began his coaching career as an assistant in 1976 with the Milwaukee Bucks, is credited with using fast-paced offense and smaller, more athletic players to seek mismatches and outrun opponents on thecourt, which isan approach many teams adopt today. His success led to his being named to the NBA’s list of the Top 10 (1996) and Top 15 (2021) coaches of all time.
On April 7, 2010, with his 1,333rd victory on the sidelines, Nelson passed Lenny Wilkens to set the NBA record for most regular-season coaching wins before finishing his career with a record of 1,335-1,063 (.556 win percentage). Nelson was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012. His 1,335 career regular-season wins trail only Gregg Popovich (1,390) for the league record.
Although Nelson did not win any titles as a head coach, he experienced championship glory in his 14-season NBA playing career, helping the Celtics hang five banners over an 11-year stint. Nelson averaged 11.1 points on 50 percent shooting and 4.8 rebounds in 134 career playoff games for the Celtics. He’s among 26 players to win at least five NBA championships — 11 of those players did so with Boston — and Nelson’s No. 19 jersey was retired by the franchise in 1978.
By 1965, the Celtics signed Nelson as a free agent, and his game and role grew in Boston. During his first season under new coach Red Auerbach, Nelson posted averages of 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds to help the Celtics win the 1965-66 championship. He contributed as a sixth man for a roster that included Boston legends Bill Russell, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Satch Sanders and KC Jones. During the 1967-68 season, he was one of seven Celtics to average double-figure points, which at the time tied an NBA single-season record. The 2023-24 Hawks (eight) are the only team to have more such players. In nine seasons as a Celtic, Nelson averaged at least 10 points nine times.
In Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, Nelson had perhaps the most memorablemomentsof his storied basketball career. With just over a minute left in the matchup, he made a foul-line jumper that initially hit the back rim and bounced multiple feet into the air before falling to give Boston a 103-102 lead en route to a 108-106 win over the rival Los Angeles Lakers. The shot helped notch the Celtics’ 11th championship in 13 seasons as Russell’s legendary career, which included two final seasons as player-coach, drew to a close.
Nelson was born on May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Mich., to Arvid and Agnes Nelson, who raised him and two sisters on his grandfather’s farm close to Sherrard, Ill. That farm is where he first learned to shoot. Nelson’s early lessons came in a chicken yard by using a spokeless bicycle wheel nailed to the shedin an effortto simulate a basket.
Nelson’s family eventually lost the farm and moved to nearby Rock Island, Ill., where Nelson attended middle school and fell in love with basketball. Instead of shooting baskets at an empty wheel, he started shooting shots when walking to school from downtown’s 19th Street, sometimes visiting a YMCA after practice to log more work.
In 1958, Nelson graduated from Rock Island High School, which went 47-7 in his final two seasons on the team. As a junior, he averaged 12.6 points before increasing his scoring to 20.2 points per game as a senior. Because Nelson wasn’t heavily recruited, his father questioned his future in basketball, preferring he become a repairman, but Iowa Hawkeyes coach Sharm Scheuerman, a 1952 Rock Island graduate, recruited Nelson to Iowa.
This story will be updated.
