Warriors Unveil 'Nellie' Uniform Band Honoring Late Don Nelson in Photo Ahead of 2026-27 NBA Season

The Golden State Warriors announced Wednesday that they will wear a band on their uniforms throughout the 2026-27 season to honor late Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson.

Located on the shoulder of the players' jerseys, the band will read "Nellie," which was Nelson's nickname.

Nelson, who spent 11 seasons as the Warriors' head coach over two separate stints from 1988 to 1995 and 2006 to 2010, died on Aug. 9 at the age of 86.

During his time with the Warriors, Nelson compiled a 422-443 regular-season record, and he led the team to the playoffs on five occasions.

From 1989 to 1991, Nelson's Warriors teams were among the most exciting in the NBA thanks to the trio of Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, who are all Hall of Famers and were known collectively as Run TMC.

Nelson never made it past the second round of the playoffs during his first run with Golden State, but he helped lead the Warriors to one of the biggest upsets in postseason history during his second stint.

In 2007, the Warriors were the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and they were heavy first-round underdogs against a Dallas Mavericks team that went 67-15.

However, Nelson's Warriors shocked the Mavs, marking the first time in NBA history that a No. 8 seed eliminated a No. 1 seed in a seven-game playoff series.

All told, Nelson was an NBA head coach for 31 seasons with the Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Mavericks and New York Knicks.

His 1,335 career regular-season wins are the second-most by a head coach in NBA history, and he also ranks 15th on the all-time playoff wins list with 75 despite having never won a championship as a coach.

Nelson was a three-time NBA Coach of the Year, though, and he won five championships as a player during his 11-year run with the Boston Celtics from 1965 to 1976.

Nelson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012, just two years after the end of his coaching career.

The Warriors will open 2026-27 regular season play on Oct. 21 when they go on the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers.