Don Nelson almost passed on Dirk Nowitzki in the draft and other fun stories from the award presser

From keeping Dirk Nowitzki a secret to the not-so-hidden shoe protest and falling out with Mark Cuban because of Steve Nash, former Mavs coach Don Nelson shared a host of stories from a life around the NBA.

In Sunday’s pregame press conference, where Don Nelson received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA), the Hall of Fame coach answered questions and shared a long list of stories and interesting tidbits about his time in the NBA and in Dallas.

Don Nelson, the legendary NBA coach of 34 years, who was with the Dallas Mavericks from 1997-2005, both as a coach and as a general manager, had many things to share about his time in Dallas.

Known for the so-called “Nellie ball”, as well as the advent of the ‘point forward’ position, he forced teams to adjust to a higher pace and increased 3-point shooting, as well as disruptive defensive schemes during his tenure as an NBA coach.

Among many other interesting insights, the former Mavs coach and GM confirmed that the falling out between him and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was because Cuban was unwilling to pay Steve Nash in 2004. Nash left Dallas that summer to sign with the Phoenix Suns. He was a free agent and was offered a more lucrative contract by the Suns than the Mavericks.

In the award press conference, taking place prior to game 2 of the NBA Finals Sunday, Don Nelson also told the fascinating story about how he and Donnie Nelson (his son and assistant coach at the time) tried and succeeded in hiding Dirk Nowitzki from other NBA teams prior to the draft in 1998.

“Dirk was the most talented big man I’d ever seen. He was close to seven feet tall and he played like a small forward. Donnie (Nelson) found a way to isolate him from the NBA scouts, they played in the world games, European against American players down in San Antonio. Donnie got him to train in Dallas and they trained in the YMCA and only two people were allowed in there: that was me and Donnie,” the Hall of Fame coach said.

“So I got a chance to watch him for a week, and no other scout could come in… I didn’t want anybody else to see him, because I liked him that much. He scored like 35 and 15 rebounds and I thought ‘oh man, now everybody’s gonna see him’ but they only saw him the one time and he started slipping in the draft.”

It also turns out that they did the deal to trade back from draft pick six to nine because they were certain Dirk Nowitzki would slip. The reason was that they had told everybody else that Dirk couldn’t come to the NBA for another 2-3 years. Which of course wasn’t true. But it ensured that they were in the black that year instead of red, “and Ross Perot Jr. (the owner at the time) liked that,” Don Nelson added with a smile.

But the real kicker in this story is the fact that Dirk was not even Nelson’s favorite player in that draft (1998), he revealed. Paul Pierce was. And when Pierce started slipping, as well, they suddenly had to make the choice between selecting him or Nowitzki, Don Nelson explained. “Oh shit”, he thought.

At this point, however, his son Donnie reminded him of the lengths they’d gone to in order to hide and keep Nowitzki a secret, and Don agreed – they’d made a commitment and they were going to stand on it. But it wasn’t a smooth start in Dallas for Dirk and Don:

“It was tough for a while in Dallas. People thought I was a mad scientist… we stuck with him and we got (Steve) Nash in the trade and history can answer the rest of it.”

Don Nelson was not about to stop raving about Dirk Nowitzki, however.

“What a player, huh. What a human being. I’m so proud of him,” he added and continued straight into one of the big stories of the night, the shoe protest:

“And Luka too. My dear friend. As a matter of fact, I want everybody to know, I’m wearing Luka’s shoes… And I’m wearing them in protest of the trade from Dallas. I think it’s a tremendous mistake by the Dallas Mavericks franchise to trade him,” Nelson quipped, referring to the protest of the Mavericks’ widely criticized trade of Luka Dončić to the Lakers earlier this year.”

At this point in the presser, Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers head coach and NBCA President – as well as Dallas Mavericks head coach from 2008-2021 – who was seated next to him – let out a loud chuckle, indicating Carlisle’s stance on the matter.

Don Nelson continued:

“I want everybody to know that. Because I learned from the best. I played a year for Red Auerbach. I played under him for Tommy Heinsohn and Bill Russell. And I had the opportunity to sit and talk with Red about his philosophy. And his philosophy was, when you have a great player… you never lose that player – you keep them for a lifetime. You put his number up and you honor that player,” the former Mavs coach said and continued:

“My philosophy was always to honor the great players. Not trade them away. But to add pieces to that player to make him and that franchise the best that it could be.”

Don Nelson, who is one of only two coaches in NBA history to lead three teams to at least 250 wins, spent 34 years as a head coach in the NBA, as he coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the Golden State Warriors (twice), the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks from 1997 to 2005.

During this short press conference, he also shared how he created “Nellie ball” – he had the idea while playing on the Boston Celtics – and a list of other interesting tidbits. If you’re interested in NBA history and Dallas Mavericks history, it’s worth your time. Watch the full press conference here:

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