Don Nelson finally getting his degree

After a long career in the NBA as a player and coach, Don Nelson is finally getting his college degree. For Nelson it's better late than never since it took 50 years for Nelson to finally achieve his goal of getting a degree. Nelson will get his Bachelor's in physical education this Saturday from the University of Iowa.

Nelson, who is the NBA's all time winningest coach, needed to complete his foreign language requirements to complete his long awaited degree that had been put on hold since 1962.


"The reason I coached all these years was that I enjoyed so much being around young, talented people," Nelson told the Des Moines Register. "This will be like coaching my teams, really. I love talented, young kids."


"It means a lot to me personally," Nelson said. "When I went to college, I was the first male in my family with a chance to go. One thing that was important to me was to get a degree. I was in the pros for so long that I had to postpone it until now. But it was a goal of mine, and I've achieved it."       

The somewhat funny part of it is that Nelson cited Shaquille O'Neal as a source of inspiration.

"He went back and got his degree (from LSU), and now he's (gone) back to get a doctorate," Nelson said. "He's been an inspiration to me. I don't believe he knows that. I never told him." 

Congratulations to Coach Nelson for finally going back to school and finishing what he started.