The Golden State Warriors are not known for being winners in the traditional sense—meaning that they don't win playoff series' and championships. Aside from what they had won early on in their franchise history, in the last twenty years there has only been one coach who has given the Warriors an opportunity to win, Don Nelson.
As a coach, Nelson does have something special under his belt, an NBA-best 1,335 regular season wins and the title of winningest head coach in NBA history. Before he became an NBA head coach, he was a very consistent player in the NBA who enjoyed a 14-year NBA career with three teams, including five championships with the Celtics.
All of those accomplishments are going to look great on Don Nelson's plaque at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. That's right, Don Nelson has finally been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I was a big proponent of Nelson getting inducted for his involvement as a role player with the Celtics' championship teams and the fact that he was a model for consistency. Apparently, you don't get into the Hall of Fame for just being consistent.
He will join a class that headlines greats such as Ralph Sampson and Reggie Miller and the enshrinement ceremony is set for September 7. I'm just happy for Nelson now that he has been introduced as a member of the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame.
I'm actually surprised it took so long for Nelson to be inducted, especially since he was an innovative coach who introduced unique offensive schemes to the game of basketball. He introduced a forward-led offense while coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, and introduced the run-and-gun style of offense when he played three guards and two forwards after joining the Warriors in 1988. He is often regarded for his blatant lack of defense with his teams, but actually started out by preaching defense to his Bucks' players.
Along with being a three-time coach of the year, I was surprised to discover that Nelson started coaching immediately after his playing days with the Celtics. His last year with Boston was the 1975-1976 season and his first year as a coach with the Bucks was in 1976-1977.
I will always remember Nelson for the run-and-gun style he re-implemented when he returned to coach the Warriors from 2006-2010. Most notably I will remember the 2006-2007 season, when Warriors' made the playoffs after having not seen the postseason in over 13 years. Oddly enough, despite his nine year hiatus as Warriors head coach - from 1997-2005 - it was also Nelson who led the Warriors to their most recent playoff appearance prior to that season in 1994.
In total with the Warriors, Nelson has led them to five playoff appearances. To me, that easily makes him the one of most efficient coach in Warriors' history - behind the likes of Al Attles. I'd even go out on a limb to say his entire body of work puts him the top 10 NBA coaches of all time - even without an NBA Championship. Congratulations to Don Nelson on his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where fresh content is posted daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions - all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
Chicago Tribune. Miller, Sampson Nelson headline 2012 Hall of Fame class. NBA 2012
Yahoo! Sports. Warriors' playoff history. NBA 2012
Basketball Reference. Don Nelson. NBA 2012
More from David Mehrwein and the Yahoo! Contributor Network:
San Francisco Giants sign Matt Cain to New Deal - Fan Reaction
Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant Makes up for Awful Game: Fan Reaction
Golden State Warriors' David Lee is one of the NBA's Most Underrated Players: Fan Reaction
San Jose Sharks Appear to be Peaking at Right Time: Fan Preview
Brandon Jacobs Will Be Tested with San Francisco 49ers: Fan Opinion
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
No comments:
Post a Comment