Wheaton, Ill. - Wheaton College alumnus Donn Nelson ('86) serves as the President of the recently crowned NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, helping to shape the Mavs' championship-winning roster. He has been with the Mavericks since 1998 - first serving as an assistant coach before later settling into his role in Dallas' front office.

Nelson joins fellow Wheaton alumnus Randy Pfund ('74) as Wheaton graduates who have built NBA Champions in their respective tenures as NBA General Managers. Pfund was General Manager of the Miami Heat when the team won its NBA Championship in 2006.

Nelson noted in 2006 for an article with the Wheaton Athletics Website, "Whether it is an NBA franchise or school or life in general, it's the people that make the difference,” Nelson said. “It's not the bricks and mortar at the American Airlines Center that make that place what it is—it's the people. And it's the same at Wheaton.”

Donn Nelson was inducted into the Wheaton Athletic Department's "Hall of Honor" in 1996. During his four seasons playing for Wheaton, then known as the "Crusaders", he earned All-CCIW honors three times and was a NABC All-Midwest First Team selection as a senior. Nelson scored 1,460 career points in his four seasons, which is currently 18th on Wheaton's all-time scoring list and was 11th in school history at the time of his graduation. Nelson's 259 career assists during his Wheaton tenure is 12th in school history and was third in the program's record books at the time of his graduation.