Don Nelson Basketball Card

This Don Nelson basketball card is number 78 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. of New York, New York for the 1973-1974 NBA season. The front of the card features a posed picture of Boston Celtics forward Don Nelson. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “Don’s First NBA Club was the Chicago Zephyrs,” as well as a short biographical sketch and career statistics to date.

Don Nelson's playing career lasted from 1962 to 1976. He won five NBA championships as a role player on the Celtics and in 1975 led the NBA in field goal percentage with an average of .539.

After his playing career, Nelson became well-known for coaching an up-tempo style of basketball using smaller, faster players in unique positions colloquially known as “Nellie Ball.” He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks over a 31 year coaching career, amassing an NBA-record 1,335 wins. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012.