By Lee Strawther
The Sporting Tribune
The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
They say that dynamite comes in small packages, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to one Jameer Nelson.
Jameer Lamar Nelson, Sr. was born February 9, 1982 in Chester, Pennsylvania where he attended Chester High School, lettered in basketball and helped lead the Clippers to the PIAA AAAA State championship in as an All-State player in 2000, his senior year.
After high school Nelson chose to continue his education and basketball career at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where he had a breakout freshman season and was named the unanimous national Freshman of the Year.
As a junior (2002–03) he averaged 19.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, and would declared for the 2003 NBA draft before rethinking the decision and opting to stay in school for his senior season.
Arguably the greatest player in program history, the muscular six-foot point guard led Saint Joseph’s to a 27–0 regular season record in his final season (2003–04), and an appearance in the Elite Eight.
The Hawks finished the year with a 30–2 record, the best in the university’s history, with Nelson averaging 20.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.9 steals per game.
Because of his extraordinary accomplishments that season, Nelson won the 2004 John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, the Bob Cousy Award, the Rupp Trophy, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, all of which recognized him as the consensus National Player of the Year.
He left the Hawks as their all-time leader in scoring (2,094 points), assists (714), and steals (256), and his jersey No. 14 was retired by the university on April 23, 2004.
“I wanted to be a leader and I wanted to be a role model,” he said of his four years at the university. “Saint Joseph’s made those dreams come true. I wouldn’t trade my four years at St. Joe’s for anything, and I hope this gift helps others have the same kind of experience.”
Nelson was selected as the 20th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets and was subsequently traded to the Orlando Magic for a 2005 first-round pick.
Due to his impressive play the Magic altered the starting lineup, making Nelson the new floor general, and by season’s end he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He would finish the next season, his second, averaging 14.6 points and 5.0 assists per game, and helped Orlando get back to the postseason for the first time since 2003.
By the end of the 2008-09 season Nelson had set career highs in points, steals, and shooting percentage, and was selected to play in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. A potentially season-ending torn labrum in his right shoulder forced him to miss the game, however. He was averaging 16.7 points and 5.4 assists per game at the time, and after four-months of recovery, he returned in time for the NBA Finals which they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
His injury woes continued in November 2009, as he had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He returned to action just over a month later though, and he and the Magic reached the postseason after snagging their third straight Southeast Division title.
Nelson re-signed with the Magic in 2012 and in February 2014 he scored his 8,020th point, passing Shaquille O’Neal for fourth place on the Magic’s all-time scoring list. But in June he was released after 10 seasons with the team and began arguably the longest four years of his basketball journey.
In July Nelson signed with the Dallas Mavericks where he appeared in 23 games and averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 assists. Then in January 2015 he was traded to the Denver Nuggets, became a free agent that offseason, then resigned with the Nuggets in August.
He would sign with the New Orleans Pelicans in October 2017 then was traded to the Chicago Bulls in February 2018, only to be traded again a week later to Detroit.
Nelson would play his final NBA game on March 13, 2018 in a Pistons loss to the Utah Jazz.
At the beginning of the 2020 season, the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League named Nelson their assistant general manager, and on May 13, 2025, he was promoted to assistant general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, a position he still holds today.
Nelson re-enrolled at Saint Joe’s in 2016 to complete his degree, taking courses both online and on campus, and ultimately received his Bachelor of Science in Sociology in 2018, a full 14 years after he departed for the NBA.
“Surround yourself with people that push you to do and be better, he said in a January 2018 social media post. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good times and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other.”
A Sports Illustrated cover story tabbed Nelson “The Little Man from the Little School That’s Beating Everyone.” But to the state of Pennsylvania and the City of Brotherly Love he is so much more. He was (and still is) a larger-than-life hometown hoops hero.