Personal life
Nelson married Joy Wolfgram at the Oakland Coliseum in June 1991. Nelson and his wife have a total of six children from prior marriages. He has a daughter born out of wedlock and put up for adoption whom he did not know about for 29 years and who first reached out to him in 1997, not wanting anything in return. She now lives in Maui near Nelson's widow.
He had fifteen grandchildren as of 2012.
Nelson's son Donnie Nelson was the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. Donnie was Don's assistant coach with the Mavericks when Don won his 1,000th NBA game on December 29, 2001. Donnie moved from coaching to become the president of basketball operations for the Mavericks in 2002 while his father was still coaching Dallas. Donnie Nelson was an assistant coach for Lithuania in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics.
He called Dirk Nowitzki his "German son". Nelson coached Nowitzki for his first six NBA seasons in Dallas. "In my second game ever in the NBA -- obviously I wasn't a defensive presence -- he wanted me out there in the game but he didn't have anybody for me to guard," recalled the 7'0" Nowitzki. "So he let me guard [5-foot-3] Muggsy Bogues for a couple possessions. He said, 'Just stand there in the paint and wave at him. He doesn't want to shoot.'"
During the summers, while a player and when he became an NBA coach, Nelson would continually work with his Rock Island High School coach Bob Riley at a basketball camp and the two would play golf afterwards. Riley died in 2009. "He always made sure he checked in on my dad," said Bob's son Jack Riley.
Nelson had a hand in the Celtics drafting teammate Steve Kuberski. While with the Celtics, Nelson would return home to the Quad Cities and played with Kuberski, then at Bradley University, at the Moline YMCA. Kuberski was from Moline, Illinois, and had played at Moline High School, a Western Big 6 rival of Nelson's alma mater Rock Island High School. "We were just playing one-on-one but he went back to Boston and said they should take a look at this kid when his class comes up," Kuberski said of Nelson's influence. "They drafted me on whim a year early."
After his playing career ended, Nelson refereed basketball games in the summer league, thinking that becoming a referee might be his next career. "I never thought about coaching. I always wondered what in the world I'm going to do when I retire. That's why I tried refereeing", Nelson said. "He sucked as a referee, according to what he tells me", said Nelson's former teammate Joel Novak, who played with Nelson at both Rock Island High School and the University of Iowa. Nelson credited a lot of Novak'rebounds with his having missed many shots.
During the 1986 season, Nelson established The Don Nelson Fund with the help of the Milwaukee Bucks to aid struggling farmers in Wisconsin. The idea originated from Wisconsin dairy farmer Clarence Willcome, to whom Nelson donated his $11,000 1986 NBA Playoffs bonus compensation. Nelson headed a weight loss drive to raise more money for Willcome and the Wisconsin Farm Fund.
He had prostate cancer surgery in 2000.
Nelson graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in physical education in 2012. He left Iowa in 1962 with his degree coursework nearly completed. He later took Spanish classes to fulfill some of his missing 8 foreign language credit hours. He still lacked student-teaching credits. When Nelson called the university, after being inspired by Shaquille O'Neal to finish his degree, Iowa decided that his lifetime of teaching through NBA coaching would fulfill that requirement and invited him to the graduation ceremony in 2012. He attended and received his diploma with over 45 family members and friends accompanying him.
As of April 2018, Nelson lived in Maui, where he had a farm to grow flowers, coffee, and cannabis. He hosted local poker games with celebrities such as Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, and Owen Wilson.
"I know how far I've come from being a hog farmer," Nelson said of his career. "I've come a long, long way from being some country kid. I got in the fast lane, and I've stayed there a long time. I've done pretty well."
"All I can tell you is he's happy. He's in Maui, drinking Mai Tais and watching sunsets and whales. Life's good," said his son Donnie.
In early 2026, Nelson moved from Maui to Frisco, Texas. On August 9, 2026, Nelson died at the age of 86. The Dallas Morning News reported that he had suffered a stroke three weeks prior, and had been admitted to hospice.
