Nelson: Nash best player he ever coached.

[Reggie Miller]

I always thought of Finley as a quieter version of Reggie Miller. "Quieter" both in the sense that he never received the media hype and the fact that he doesn't have Reggie's big mouth. Their roles for their franchises were very similar in the early stages of their careers. I think Reggie was a slightly better offensive player, but there are a lot of similarities. (Obviously, the Pacers started having some success before the Mavs did, but there are quite a few parallels.)

At any rate, I mention this because to me, this would be the equivalent of judging Miller's career by his play in 2003-2004. Yes, they might not have been one of the three best players on their teams anymore, but both Finley and Miller were always one of the three most important members of the team.

Point of clarificaton: Say what you want to about Finley, but he hasn't resorted to gamesmanship as his skills have declined. I never could decide if I admired him more or lost some respect for Miller over that. There is no question that Michael is a classier dude than Reggie.

[Reggie Miller]

I almost forgot the entire topic of this thread...

Nelson: Nash Best Player He Ever Coached.

I think the reporter misunderstood the context. Nelson actually meant, "I've had better players than Nash on my teams before, but unfortunately, I neglected to actually coach them, since I was busy sweating out a hangover for most of the last two decades."

[yourcheatinheart]

I almost forgot the entire topic of this thread...

Nelson: Nash Best Player He Ever Coached.

I think the reporter misunderstood the context. Nelson actually meant, "I've had better players than Nash on my teams before, but unfortunately, I neglected to actually coach them, since I was busy sweating out a hangover for most of the last two decades."

hahaha, NO.

[ShoogarBear]

I think the reporter misunderstood the context. Nelson actually meant, "I've had better players than Nash on my teams before, but unfortunately, I neglected to actually coach them, since I was busy sweating out a hangover for most of the last two decades."

Nelson was a much better coach in his first job with the Bucks, who were actually a good defensive team (Sidney Moncrief, Quinn Buckner, Alton Lister, Harvey Catchings, in addition to Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman and Bob Lanier). Somewhere along the way he became more enamored with being known for his gimmicks and winning Coach of the Year awards than with winning a championship.

[FromWayDowntown]

Somewhere along the way he became more enamored with being known for his gimmicks and winning Coach of the Year awards than with winning a championship.

A hand can only hold 5 rings and Nellie has covered his non-drinking hand with a full complement.