It has been a big few months for the National Basketball League general manager.
What seemed an ambitious idea a few months ago became reality last night, as the reformatted league tipped off in Auckland.
It was no mean feat, either.
There has been criticism from a handful of top players.
Getting teams on board proved challenging — last year’s top three are not present.
Sorting the logistics around the Covid-19 uncertainty must have been nigh on impossible.
And as a kicker, a lack of funding hampered finances.
But for Nelson and his team, it was a case of drawing on many of the same things those on court look to when times get tough.
"I think things like resilience, ambition and determination are the trademarks of sport," he said.
"It doesn’t matter whether you’re an athlete, or a GM, or a coach, or many of the fantastic people I’ve got around me.
"We have all taken those trademarks into trying to get basketball back on court and keep the league alive."
The league — to be played by seven teams across six weeks in Auckland — has a different look.
However, Nelson said that had been key from the start, as staying the same as it always has was not going to work.
He admitted to feeling as though he had climbed Mt Everest three times in the last three months.
But it was part of the Melbourne-raised Nelson’s upbringing and personality to take an idea and do what it took to get it done.
"I’m born and bred and brought up in what I believe is the best sporting city in the world.
"I’ve been surrounded by sport from the moment I was born — that’s what Melbourne is.
"Working in the sports industry, you very quickly learn, especially in a market like Melbourne where it so competitive, you have to dig in and claw your way through and fight for everything you can possibly get.
"That’s the sort of make-up as to who I am."
