giant blogs such as espn.go.com/blog and arch rival SBNation.com Nelson surpassed Lenny Wilkens on the career list with win No. 1,333 in the Golden State Warriors' 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"It's just such a neat feeling," Nelson said, his hair soaked with a fizzy concoction of soft drinks and water after a wild celebration in the Warriors locker room. "This is probably why we end up coaching, for moments like this."

Nelson's career started in 1976 when he took over the Milwaukee Bucks 19 games into the season. He has also coached in Dallas, New York and with Golden State twice during his colorful career, but has never made it to the NBA finals as a coach.

"His style has always been a little unique," Warriors GM Larry Riley said in a statement. "But the fact that it has resulted in over 1,300 wins, the most for a coach in the history of the NBA, certainly cements his legacy as one of the greatest in the business."

He won five titles as a player and has been named coach of the year three times, but is the only coach with more than 1,000 career victories not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame — another indicator of the mixed reviews his career has received.
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