Amazing anecdote about a deceased NBA coach: a poker game continued after the players passed away.

Former NBA coach Don Nelson has passed away at the age of 86. He once hosted a legendary poker game where a player died during the game, but the game continued. Celebrities such as Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson were among the guests.

Former NBA coach and University of Iowa alumnus Don Nelson passed away on August 9 at the age of 86. During his lifetime, he hosted many legendary poker games with celebrities, one of which even continued after a player died.

Nellie coached in the NBA for 31 seasons from 1976 to 2010. After retiring, he settled in Hawaii and began playing poker regularly. Singer and guitarist Willie Nelson, as well as actors Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, were frequent guests at his games.

The game never ends

About five years ago, as Nelson mentioned in a 2023 YouTube interview with Rick Quan, one of the players, Greg Booth, died during the game. But that didn't stop the poker tables—including Woody Harrelson's—from continuing to play.

"I told everyone that Greg would want you to keep playing. He's someone who enjoys life to the fullest," Nelson explained.

Nelson, who won five NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, said the infamous poker game was "something they'll never forget," referring to those who continued playing after Booth's death.

“They put him on the porch and let him lie there,” Nelson said of the late poker player. “Everyone put a $20 chip in his pocket, and he just lay there until someone came to get him.”

Nelson is best known for his coaching career with the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, but he was also a passionate poker enthusiast. Poker Hall of Famer and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel shared an interesting story about meeting the late basketball coach.

Nellie's poker games are mostly mid-stakes games. In an interview with WRAL News, he stated that the pot size is around $3,000. Willie Nelson (the two are not related) "never has a hand he doesn't like," the former NBA coach said.

Nelson was a star player at the University of Iowa in the early 1960s, and then spent 14 years in the NBA, mostly as a consistent role player on championship teams. He then embarked on a long coaching career, winning a total of 1,335 games, ranking second all-time.

The veteran coach suffered a stroke in Texas and was transferred to palliative care a few weeks before his death.

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