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Don Nelson has passed away at 86. Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay spend this episode remembering the real Nelly — not just the Hall of Fame coach, but the Celtic most people under 60 never saw play.
The story nobody knows: Nelson became a Celtic for $1,000 cash because rival Tom Heinsohn personally told Red Auerbach to go get him.
0:00 — Why Tom Heinsohn told Red to sign Don Nelson
1:05 — Nelson’s early career and the Havlicek birthday coincidence
4:36 — His playing days at Iowa and a rough stretch with the Lakers
5:23 — Signed to the Celtics for $1,000 cash
6:45 — Heinsohn’s go-to clutch play was always for Nelson
8:38 — The legendary Game 7 shot off the back of the rim
11:37 — PrizePicks
12:41 — The bar debate that ended with broken glasses
14:04 — Bill Russell called him “the ultimate Celtic”
14:31 — Retiring to Maui, and a famous marijuana patch
17:34 — The 1983 friction with Red Auerbach as a coach
20:19 — Building Run TMC and drafting Nowitzki and Nash in one night
24:44 — Bob Ryan’s personal story: the 10,000-point favor
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