Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, other Warriors greats react to Don Nelson’s death

The NBA is in mourning after Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson died Sunday.

The impact of Nelson’s death has already been felt by players and coaches around the league, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and Tim Hardaway.

“Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on the game of basketball is still felt today. He consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play and saw possibilities in the game that others did not,” Kerr said, from NBA insider Marc Stein’s report. “So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game. His impact on the Warriors is just as significant.”

Kerr said Nelson shaped some of the most memorable teams and moments in Warriors basketball history when he coached the team from 1988-1995 and during a second stint from 2006-2010.

During Nelson’s time coaching the Warriors, he led them to the playoffs six times and became the NBA’s all-time winningest coach in 2010. He eventually moved to second on that list in 2022, when Gregg Popovich surpassed his victory total. Nelson won 1,335 regular-season games, and Popovich tallied 1,390.

Curry, who had a long-lasting relationship with Nelson, said Nelson was one of the biggest reasons he was drafted by the Warriors.

“The story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court. He taught me a lot during our one season together [2009-2010], and I’ll never forget the night he became the winningest coach in NBA history in Minnesota,” Curry said. “We were so happy for him. He had an immeasurable impact on the sport and will go down as one of the greatest minds in the history of the game.”

Curry said Nelson is a true icon of basketball and said he will be dearly missed, sending his love and condolences to his family.

Hardaway played under Nelson twice in his career, when he was a member of the Warriors from 1989-1996 and with the Dallas Mavericks from 2001-2002.

Hardaway said Nelson meant so much to him “as a coach and as a person.”

“Nellie believed in me from the beginning and gave me the confidence and freedom to play my game. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me and the special years we shared with Run TMC,” Hardaway said of his on-court pairing with Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. “Nellie was ahead of his time, and there was nobody else like him. He had an incredible impact on my career and on the game of basketball. I’m going to miss him, and my thoughts and prayers are with Joy, Donnies, and the entire Nelson family.”