By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Don Nelson confirmed himself as the 2025 recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a discussion with Marc Stein, he also revealed his intention to wear Luka Doncic’s signature shoes as a protest against the midseason trade of the Slovenian sensation from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Luka is my dear friend,” he explained, “I’m going to wear a pair of his new shoes. I wanted to mention that.”
Nelson, 85, served as the general manager of the Mavs between 1997 and 2005, in addition to working as the head coach of the franchise. His son and replacement as the GM from 2005 to 2021, Donnie Nelson, was in charge of securing the services of Doncic with the third pick of the 2018 draft.
“My philosophy was always, when you’ve got a great player, he’s yours for a lifetime. You don’t get rid of great players. When that happened, I was pretty disappointed,” he added to his displeasure about the Mavericks’ decision regarding Doncic.
Set to be honored before Game 2 of the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, Nelson will wear a pair of Luka 4 shoes. The NBA Sundays contest features the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers in Paycom Center, with the Pacers up 1-0 in a best-of-seven championship series.
Doncic, 26, was traded to the Lakers in early February, midway through his seventh year in the NBA and a few months after leading Dallas to the Finals 2024.