It’s well-known that Don Nelson has a lot of free time on his hands nowadays. He’s enjoying a life of luxury and leisure in Hawaii.
And no, he doesn’t spend half of his “typical” day worrying about the New York Knicks’ pathetic start to the 2019-20 season. (Of course, the Knicks’ awful start was preceded by a lousy omen in the offseason, as accentuated by Kevin Durant’s remarks.)
FOX Sports broadcaster Marques Johnson recently caught up with Nelson, his former head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, and got a tour of the Hall of Fame coach’s home in Maui.
Indeed, Nelson is light years away from his former life as a bench boss from 1976 to 2010, during which he amassed an NBA-record 1,335 victories.
As Johnson observed, Nelson’s mind is no longer consumed with the day-to-day challenges of leading a team.
“You’re not going to remember the coffee, the cigarettes, just pacing up and down the sidelines and the Nellie’s T Club in Milwaukee because you got so many technicals going at the officials,” Johnson said. “But this is a 180-degree change for you.”
Which elicited an interesting reply from Don Nelson.
“Marques, I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Nelson told Johnson. “I don’t know why I got all these breaks, but I did. It’s not that I’m smarter than anybody, but I did invest my money wisely on Maui. I love Maui. … I fell in love with this island when we played a game here.”
Nelson’s current pursuits include golf and farming.
