Don Nelson was reason Steph Curry ended up on Warriors

Nypost · Aug 09, 2026 · 780 words · By Evan Webeck

Legacy and Influence Sports History Mentorship

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What to know about Legacy and Influence

Stephen Curry, if you remember, was no sure thing.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Stephen Curry, if you remember, was no sure thing.

Why it matters

But he had one big, boisterous, influential fan: Don Nelson.

Common ground

“One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson,” Curry said in a statement Sunday, remembering the life of the larger-than-life coach shortly after Nelson’s family announced his peaceful passing at the age of 86.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Legacy and Influence story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the Warriors... possessed the No. 7 pick in the 2009 draft?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/sports/don-nelson-helped-lay-warriors-dynasty-foun…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

verified Verified 2

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Claim 1: “the Warriors... possessed the No. 7 pick in the 2009 draft.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources (Athlon, and others) explicitly state the Golden State Warriors selected Stephen Curry with the 7th overall pick in 2009.

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web search NEUTRAL — Draft: Golden State Warriors, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 2009 NBA Draft. NBA Debut: October 28, 2009. Experience: 17 years.How much does Stephen Curry weigh? Stephen Curry weighs 185 lbs (83 k…
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01.htm…

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web search NEUTRAL — Stephen Curry has redefined modern basketball since being selected by the Golden State Warriors with the seventh pick of the 2009 NBA Draft. During the 2024-25 season, Curry continued to add to his le…
https://athlonsports.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-…

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web search NEUTRAL — NBA superstar Steph Curry’s hall-of-fame level professional basketball career is winding down.Curry has played 16 seasons with the Warriors. The San Francisco-based franchise selected him as the seven…
https://atlantablackstar.com/2024/12/29/steph-curry-confessi…

info

Claim 2: “Curry has since said that he was all but certain he would be taken by the Knicks at No. 8.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided search results for 'Stephen' are generic (Bible, films, names) and do not contain Curry's specific quote about the New York Knicks.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Stephen or Steven is an English male first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen (Ancient Greek: Στέφανος, romanized: Stéphanos, lit. 'wreath, crown'), an…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen

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web search NEUTRAL — Stephen is a 2025 Indian Tamil -language psychological crime thriller film directed by Mithun Balaji in his directorial debut [1] and produced by Jayakumar and Mohan produce the film under the JM Prod…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_(film)

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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 13, 2024 · Stephen’s speech was an indictment against Israel and their failure as the chosen people of God who had been given the law, the holy things, and the promise of the Messiah. Naturally, t…
https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Stephen.html

verified

Claim 3: “Six teams passed on him in the draft.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the provided evidence snippets for claim 0 are fragmented, the evidence for claim 5 confirms Stephen Curry was the 7th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. By definition, if a player is selected 7th, six teams passed on them. This is a factual mathematical certainty based on the draft position verified by multiple sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took tur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NBA_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college bask…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Curry

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wardell Stephen Curry II ( STEF-ən; born March 14, 1988), also known as Steph Curry ( STEF), is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Asso…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 4: “Curry would only go on to play one season for Nelson”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “set a record with 4,248 and counting.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 6: “spent only 11 of his 31 seasons with the Warriors”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided Wikipedia snippets confirm Don Nelson coached the Warriors, but they do not specify the exact number of seasons (11 of 31) as claimed.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Arvid Nelson (May 15, 1940 – August 9, 2026) was an American professional basketball player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Go…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Nelson

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of draft picks by the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. In total, the Warriors have had 465 draft picks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors_draft_hi…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco, California. The franchise had been known as the Philadelphia Warriors and the San Francisco Warriors, due…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Golden_State_Warriors_…

schedule

Claim 7: “When Nelson retired, he was the NBA’s all-time leader in wins (only since surpassed by Gregg Popovich).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “Nelson witnessed Curry in-person in the 2009 NIT at Saint Mary’s College”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 9: “a draft room that featured first-year general manager Larry Riley.”

VERIFIED

A web search result explicitly mentions a draft room that 'featured first-year general manager Larry Riley'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Golden State Warriors) — американский профессиональный баскетбольный клуб из Сан-Франциско, Калифорния. Выступает в Тихоокеанском дивизионе Западной конференции Национальной баскетбольной ассоциации (…
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Голден_Стэйт_Уорриорз

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web search NEUTRAL — It speaks volumes for the Golden State Warriors right now. -Q: What was your conversation like with Curry on draft night? -RILEY: I think overall he was pleased. They did have the reservations about o…
https://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2014/02/14/larry-rile…

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web search NEUTRAL — Nelson, who died Sunday at age 86, helped lay the foundation for the Warriors’ dynasty. AP Photo/Kyle Phillips. Despite his soon-to-be-lame-duck status, Nelson was a figure of stability in a draft roo…
https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/sports/don-nelson-helped-lay-w…

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Claim 10: “the night he became the winningest coach in NBA history in Minnesota.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history”

CORROBORATED

Both EuroNews and Nypost explicitly describe Don Nelson as the 'second-winningest coach in NBA history'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the Natio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Nelson

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of National Basketball Association (NBA) players who won the most championships. The NBA is a major professional basketball league in North America. It was founded in 1946 as t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_players_with_most_…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “he spent retirement growing pot in Maui with Willie Nelson.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from OpenCourt Basketball and other sources mention Don Nelson living on a farm in Maui growing weed and his friendship with Willie Nelson bonding over marijuana.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, sometimes referred to as POTR, is an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2008 by Lukas Nelson. The band consists of Lukas Nelson (lead vocals, son…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukas_Nelson_&_Promise_of_the_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 196…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Nelson

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 13: “He urged the Warriors to take Curry with the No. 7 pick.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for claim 9 consists of irrelevant results about Hindi films and a food service company; no evidence is provided regarding Don Nelson's advice on the 7th pick.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Don: The Chase Begins Again was released on 20 October 2006, coinciding with Diwali. The film was a major commercial success, grossing ₹106 crore (US$11 million) worldwide against its budget of ₹40 cr…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_(2006_Hindi_film)

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web search NEUTRAL — Don is a fictional character and the villain protagonist of the Don film franchise. He was first introduced in the 1978 film Don. He later appears in a reboot Don and its sequel Don 2. Created by the …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_(character)

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web search NEUTRAL — Edward Don & Company offers a wide range of foodservice equipment and supplies for various needs.
https://www.don.com/

verified

Claim 14: “the Warriors already had a star point guard, Monta Ellis.”

VERIFIED

Evidence confirms Monta Ellis played for the Warriors and had his best years there, including four 20-point seasons, supporting the description of him as a star player during that era.

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web search NEUTRAL — Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a McDonald's All-American and first-team Parade All-American. He entered the NBA directly out of high school, being drafted with…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monta_Ellis

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web search NEUTRAL — Monta Ellis had the best years of his NBA career when he played for the Golden State Warriors. Ellis won the league's Most Improved Player award in his second year with the Warriors and also had four …
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/itd-same-thing-monta-ellis…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Golden State Warriors picked Monta Ellis as the 40th player in the 2005 NBA draft. This was in the second round. In his first year, he played in 46 games. He averaged 6.8 points per game.
https://kids.kiddle.co/Monta_Ellis

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Claim 15: “Don Nelson... announced his peaceful passing at the age of 86.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (EuroNews, Nypost) and Wikipedia confirm Don Nelson died at the age of 86.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Richard Nelson (January 20, 1927 – September 10, 2013) was an American screenwriter, film producer and jazz musician. He is best known for his work on the American situation comedy The Adventur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Nelson_(screenwriter)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Don Nelson (1940–2026) was an American basketball coach and player. Don Nelson may also refer to: Don Nelson (screenwriter) (1927–2013), American screenwriter, film producer and jazz musician Donn Ne…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Nelson_(disambiguation)

+ 2 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.