Nelson, 67, returned to Golden State for his second stint as the team’s head coach prior to the 2006-07 season, leading the Warriors to a 42-40 record, a second place finish in the Pacific Division and their first trip to the NBA Playoffs in 13 years. Additionally, Nelson guided Golden State to a First Round triumph over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, marking the first time that a #8 seed had defeated a #1 seed in a seven-game series.

In 2006-07, Golden State ranked second in the NBA in points per game (106.5 ppg) and led the NBA in fast-break points per game (19.2 ppg), while also ranking first in steals per game (9.15 spg) and points off turnovers (21.2 ppg). Following a mid-season, eight-player trade with Indiana, Nelson’s squad posted a 23-20 record that included a 16-5 mark over the final 21 games of the season – the only 21 games following the trade in which all of his rotation players were healthy. That 16-5 record, which was the best record in the NBA from March 5 through the end of the season and matched the best finishing kick ever by a team that eventually ended up as the eighth playoff seed in its conference, was highlighted by a 9-1 record over the final 10 games of the campaign. Over those final 10 games, Nelson’s “small-ball” lineup, which featured no starter over 6-9 in height, averaged 117.4 points per game.

COACH	W	L	PCT
Lenny Wilkens	1,332	1,155	.536
Don Nelson	1,232	920	.572
Pat Riley	1,195	627	.656
Jerry Sloan	1,035	689	.600
Larry Brown	1,010	800	.558
Bill Fitch	944	1,106	.460
Red Auerbach	938	479	.662
Dick Motta	935	1,017	.479
Phil Jackson	919	393	.700
Jack Ramsay	864	783	.525

Entering his 29th season as an NBA head coach in 2007-08, Nelson is the second-winningest coach in NBA history (1,232), trailing only Lenny Wilkens (1,332). He also ranks 20th on the all-time winning percentage list for NBA coaches (.572), having compiled an overall 1,232-920 record in 2,152 regular-season games over a span of 28 years. Only Wilkens has coached more NBA games (2,487). In fact, as Nelson enters his 44th year in the NBA as a player, coach, general manager or consultant, only Wilkens has more combined games as a player and head coach than the 3,205 that “Nellie” has notched heading into the 2007-08 season.

In his first stint with Golden State, Nelson spent six-plus years as the team’s head coach and general manager from 1988-89 through the first 45 games of the 1994-95 campaign, amassing an overall record of 277-260 (.516) in 537 regular-season contests. The Warriors qualified for the playoffs in four of his six complete seasons with the team (1989, 1991, 1992, 1994), highlighted by a pair of 50-win seasons in 1991-92 (55-27) and 1993-94 (50-32). In addition to earning NBA Coach of the Year honors with the Warriors in 1991-92, Nelson also served as head coach of the Western Conference All-Star team in 1992.

During his previous tenure with the club, the Warriors ranked among the top four scoring teams in the NBA in each of his six complete seasons, including the 1989-90 (116.3) and 1991-92 (118.7) campaigns, when Golden State led the NBA in points per game. He originally joined the Warriors as executive vice president on July 1, 1987 and was named general manager on December 30, 1987 before taking over as head coach the following season. He resigned his position with the club on February 13, 1995.

One of only two coaches in league history (joining Pat Riley) to earn NBA Coach of the Year honors on three different occasions (1983 and 1985 with Milwaukee, 1992 with Golden State), Nelson has enjoyed coaching stints in four NBA cities, including Milwaukee (1976-1987), Golden State (1988-1995, 2006-07), New York (1995-96) and Dallas (1997-2005). He is one of only two coaches in league annals (joining Wilkens) to register 250-plus victories with three different teams, having accomplished the feat in Milwaukee (540), Golden State (319) and Dallas (339). Nelson’s teams have registered 50-or-more wins in 13 of his 28 seasons as a head coach, placing him second on the all-time list of 50-win campaigns (tied with Phil Jackson), trailing only Pat Riley (17). He has led his teams to 18 playoff appearances and ranks tied for ninth on the NBA’s all-time playoff winning list with 75 post-season victories.

Prior to joining the Warriors, Nelson spent his most recent successful tenure with the Dallas Mavericks. He spent six full seasons - and parts of two others - as the head coach of the Mavericks, punctuated by four consecutive 50-win campaigns from 2000-01 to 2003-04 (53, 57, 60, 52). He resigned as head coach of the Mavericks 64 games into the 2004-05 season (42-22) on March 19, 2005 and served as a consultant with Dallas from that point on until being hired by the Warriors. Overall, he guided the Mavericks to a 339-251 mark in 590 regular season games (.575) and four post-season appearances.

Among his many honors, Nelson was named one of the top-10 coaches in NBA history by a panel of former coaches, players during the league’s 50th anniversary season in 1997. He also coached Dream Team II to a gold medal at the 1994 World Championships in Toronto.

In 14 seasons as an NBA player, Nelson averaged 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 1,053 contests. He was drafted by the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962 (19th overall) and played one season before his contract was sold to the Los Angeles Lakers. After two seasons in L.A. he was waived and signed as a free agent by the Boston Celtics in October, 1965. In 11 seasons with the Celtics, he was a member of five NBA Championship teams (1966, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 1976). His retired uniform #19, honoring his career as one of the game’s greatest “sixth men” was raised to the Boston Garden rafters in 1978.

Born on May 15, 1940, in Muskegon, Michigan, Don Arvid Nelson was a two-time All-American at Iowa, where he graduated in 1962. Don married Joy Wolfgram on June 19, 1991, in a ceremony that was held on the Warriors’ court inside the Oakland Coliseum. Nelson has five grown children, Julie, Donn, Christie, Katie and Lee.