Hall of Fame coach takes in displaced Maui residents

After 14 years as player and 32 years as an NBA coach, Nelson retired to Maui, where he has an Airbnb, a farm that grows coffee and his own strain of cannabis, called "Nellie Kush," and a collection of short-term rental properties. With fires destroying nearly 2,000 residences and displacing thousands of residents, the 83-year-old Nelson is leasing his properties for free.

Nelson first bought property in Maui back in 1995, and told the SF Chronicle, "It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to and I think it’s the most beautiful place in the world. I haven’t really left in eight years. Why would I? Life is so good here."

Now Nelson's daughter has converted the wedding venue she manages into a distribution center for goods, another daughter is cleaning the rental units for guests and the family is trying to house fire refugees.

That's not to say the story is entirely positive. One of the reasons Maui has a housing crisis is because of the proliferation of rental housing pushing out residents, and Nelson's real estate investments have added to that.

As a coach, Don Nelson was a pioneer in creating space. Whether he was using his small forward to initiate the offense, or stashing his center at the three-point line to draw out the opposing center, Nellie's teams were all about space.

Now, he's creating space for people in his adopted home.