Sidney Moncrief on how Don Nelson started the big-man shooter movement: "He would do whatever he needed to gain an advantage"

In the modern NBA, every team yearns for a big man who can shoot. Spacing the floor is a vital part of the game nowadays, not just for the guards but also for the big men.

Former Defensive Player of the Year Sidney Moncrief was a longtime NBA player. He saw the game progress toward making shooting a crucial part of any team. Sid talked about how Don Nelson thought outside the box and was always open to big men shooting perimeter jump shots.

"Don Nelson lived that. He thought outside the box. You could be a big man who didn't have a post-up game, but you had a three-point shot, so he'd encourage you to shoot," Moncrief said about Nelson's forward-thinking mindset. "He was one of the first coaches who started utilizing big guys as three-point shooters… He would do whatever he needed to do to gain an advantage over his opponents. He was one of the best match-up coaches in the history of basketball."

Don's revolutionary relationship with Nowitzki

Nelson is synonymous with the Dallas Mavericks , as he spent eight seasons there, making a massive impact. His most significant move was having faith and trading for Dirk Nowitzki during NBA Draft night in 1998 , which set the tone for the team's long-term future. It was a decision that changed the Mavericks organization's trajectory and mattered for the overall play style around the league.

Dirk's ascent to superstardom legitimized the big-man shooter. His touch around the mid-range became his biggest strength, but his ability to stretch outside the three-point line became the norm around the league. The most elite big men nowadays have a decent three-point shot because Dirk showed that spacing plays a big role in the offense.

The NBA developed more with the perimeter offense when Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors went supernova with their three-point shooting. Their ascent to becoming the best team in the league led to every team diving into the analytics and finding out that focusing on threes is a productive way to play the game.

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Nelson was an innovative coach

Nellie had the vision of having a shooting big, but he also knew how to adjust whenever new ideas came along. During his time as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach, he knew Moncrief was mostly a defensive stopper, but on offense, he thrived as a post-up player.

Shooting guards usually do not post up, but Moncrief had the length and wit to play as a post-up player on offense while conserving energy for the defensive side of the game.

"You could be a guard, like myself, who had great post-up skills, and he'd take a player like me and put me in the post," Moncrief continued about Nelson's adjustments as a coach.

Being open to change made Nelson a successful coach in the NBA. He might have been more successful as a player, but Nellie introduced new ideas to the basketball world as a high-level coach.

Related: "He's probably more old-school than anyone out there" - Sidney Moncrief on whether Curry would be able to survive in his era