Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on …

From there, Nelson, who added general manager to his title the following season with Milwaukee, used an unorthodox coaching style that became known as "Nellie Ball" to put together a Hall of Fame résumé during his 31 seasons. Nellie Ball proved to be ahead of its time, utilizing smaller, more athletic players to fuel a fast-paced offense that prioritized creating mismatches through speed. It was a philosophy that had been adopted across the league long after he retired. "Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on the game of basketball is still felt today," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in a statement Sunday. "He consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play and saw possibilities in the game that others often did not. So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game."