All Time NBA Fan

DALLAS (March 19, 2005)


Head Coach and General Manager Don Nelson announced today he has decided to step down as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks but will concentrate on his role as a consultant with the team. The Mavericks have promoted Assistant Coach Avery Johnson to head coach. Johnson becomes the eighth head coach of the franchise."This is not a retirement. I am just moving forward into my role as a consultant," said Don Nelson. "This was my decision and I think it is the best decision for the team and for me. I have enjoyed every second of my eight seasons with this organization and I believe this is the right time for a change."Nelson guided the Mavericks to four straight playoff berths and four straight 50-win seasons highlighted by the 2002-03 season where the team finished tied for the best record in the NBA at 60-22 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. On February 13, 2005, he won his 330th game with Dallas surpassing Dick Motta for most wins in franchise history. He finishes with a Mavericks record of 339-251 (.575) in eight seasons.Nelson owns 42 years of NBA experience as a player, coach and general manager. He is the second winningest coach in NBA history with a record of 1,190-880 (.575) in 27 years trailing just Lenny Wilkens. Nelson, who has also coached Milwaukee, Golden State and New York in addition to Dallas, has led his teams to 50-win seasons 13 times, which ranks tied for second in NBA history with Phil Jackson, and trails Pat Riley's 17 50-win seasons. He became just the second coach, along with Wilkens, to win at least 250 games with three different teams last season (Milwaukee 1976-87, Golden State 1988-95 and Dallas 1997-2005). A future Hall of Famer, Nelson, along with Riley, are the only two coaches ever to be named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1983, 1985 and 1992).Avery Johnson, who retired on October 28, 2004 as a player, has been promoted to head coach after coaching the team in Nelson's absence 13 games this season. He recorded a 9-4 record in those contests.In his 16-year career, Johnson played 1,054 games and averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game. He finished his career with an impressive 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio. Johnson also played in 90 playoff games and started 73 of those contests. He has playoff averages of 10.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.13 steals in 31.2 minutes per game. In 1999, he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs NBA Championship team.Johnson became the 75th player in NBA history to play 1,000 career games on 3/28/03 and joined Calvin Murphy as the only other player under 6-feet in height to reach that milestone. He also reached the 5,000-career assists plateau on 2/27/00 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.