Bay Area Sports Blog

1970s

Milwaukee Sentinel, 1978: The Milwaukee Bucks “are the good guys. They have Don Nelson, the coach who looks like a Boy Scout leader who had just brought the lost tenderfoots back to safety.”

1980s

New York Times, 1989: “Warriors fans have worked themselves into a frenzy over Nelson and the team. The atmosphere in the Oakland Coliseum during the third game of the Utah series was like a college pep rally. A man wearing half a basketball on his head paraded around the stands wearing a T-shirt that said, ‘Nellie is cool.’”

1990s

Nelson, upon being fired by the Knicks in 1996: “Evidently, I don’t deal well with the modern-day players.”

Today

Nelson: “Well, I don’t play young guys, you know.”

And several amazing exchanges with Lowell Cohn…

Nelson: I’ve been a very good coach. I don’t know if you want to call me great.

Cohn: And you’re proud of that?

Nelson: Yeah, you can write that on my stone – He was a good coach.

…

Cohn: You’re not yet in the Hall of Fame. Is this something you think about?

Nelson: I don’t feel I belong there so I’m fine with not being there.

Cohn: Why don’t you feel you belong there?

Nelson: Because that’s a place for greatness and I just feel I’m very good.

Cohn: Greatness might be an “A” and you might see yourself as a “B.”

Nelson: Yeah. That’s good.

Cohn: Just two more questions.

Nelson: Good.

Cohn: Am I boring you?

Nelson: Yes.

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By Peter on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 11:35 pm.
Tags: Golden State Warriors