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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 05: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome on January 05, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry<\/a> remembered the man who gave him his first NBA opportunity after former Golden State Warriors<\/a> coach Don Nelson died Sunday at 86.<\/p>\n Curry posted a tribute to Nelson on his Instagram Story<\/a>, calling him his first NBA<\/a> coach and one of basketball\u2019s greatest minds. But one five-word line stood out as Curry reflected on the coach whose unconventional ideas preceded much of what the modern NBA eventually became.<\/p>\n \u201cNellyball was a real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Curry added that Nelson \u201cgave me the opportunity to find myself back in \u201909\u201d and said he would be \u201cforever grateful\u201d to his former coach.<\/p>\n The sentiment goes deeper than Curry simply honoring an important figure from the beginning of his career. Nelson played a direct role in bringing Curry to Golden State in the first place, and then gave the rookie the freedom to begin becoming the player around whom the Warriors would eventually build a dynasty. The Warriors said Sunday that Nelson died at 86<\/a>. His family did not publicly provide a cause of death.<\/p>\n HeavyStephen Curry honored former Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson in an Instagram Story after Nelson\u2019s death at age 86.<\/p>\n Curry Credits Don Nelson With Helping Bring Him to Warriors<\/p>\n Curry\u2019s Instagram message echoed a longer statement released by the Warriors after Nelson\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson,\u201d Curry said, according to the team. Curry added that Nelson challenged him immediately and gave him a chance to become his best version on the court.<\/p>\n Golden State selected Curry seventh overall out of Davidson in the 2009 NBA Draft. Nelson coached him during the 2009-10 season, the final year of Nelson\u2019s coaching career.<\/p>\n That season hardly resembled the beginning of a dynasty. Golden State finished 26-56, and Curry entered a backcourt already featuring Monta Ellis. But Nelson had long been willing to play smaller, faster and less conventionally than his peers.<\/p>\n Curry\u2019s rookie season therefore placed him with a coach unusually comfortable challenging traditional assumptions about size, positions and shot creation.<\/p>\n Nelson\u2019s role in the Curry decision also proved consequential well beyond their lone season together. The San Francisco Chronicle noted Sunday<\/a> that Nelson had a hand in the Warriors\u2019 decision to select Curry, one of the defining moves in franchise history.<\/p>\n What Steph Curry Meant by \u2018Nellyball\u2019<\/p>\n Curry\u2019s \u201cNellyball\u201d reference is more than affectionate nostalgia.<\/p>\n Nelson spent decades leaning into pace, shooting, smaller lineups and unconventional roles. He helped popularize the concept of a \u201cpoint forward\u201d and routinely placed skill and speed ahead of traditional positional structure. Steve Kerr said after Nelson\u2019s death that many ideas now considered commonplace in the NBA can be traced to Nelson\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n That makes Curry\u2019s tribute especially fitting.<\/p>\n The championship Warriors under Kerr did not simply duplicate Nelson\u2019s offenses, but they thrived on principles Nelson embraced years earlier: spacing the floor, creating matchup problems with unconventional lineups and empowering skilled players instead of forcing them into rigid positional definitions. That connection is an interpretation of Nelson\u2019s documented influence rather than a claim that he designed Golden State\u2019s later championship system.<\/p>\n Nelson also left Golden State with one other piece of history Curry remembered Sunday.<\/p>\n On April 7, 2010, the Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> as Nelson earned his 1,333rd career victory, then the most by an NBA head coach. Curry said he still remembered how much that achievement meant to the team. Nelson eventually retired with 1,335 victories; Gregg Popovich surpassed him in 2022.<\/p>\n For Curry, however, Nelson\u2019s legacy was more personal than a number in the record book.<\/p>\n More than 17 years after Golden State drafted him, Curry\u2019s tribute returned to the opportunity Nelson provided at the very beginning.<\/p>\n And five words summed up the basketball philosophy Curry believes deserves to be remembered with him:<\/p>\n \u201cNellyball was a real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tErik C. Anderson<\/a> is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, NFL, MLB and trading card market for Heavy.com. His coverage focuses on breaking news, trade rumors, roster moves, player contracts and the stories driving national fan conversation. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today and ESPN. More about Erik C. Anderson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \t![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-09-154356.png\")
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