Nelson led the Saint Joseph's Hawks to a 27–0 regular season record in 2003–04 and ecause of his extraordinary accomplishments as a senior, he won the 2004 Wooden Award, the 2004 Naismith Award, the 2004 Bob Cousy Award, the Rupp Trophy, the Oscar Robertson Trophy and many more accolades, including being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Nelson was the first Atlantic 10 athlete to be on the cover of the magazine since Mark Macon in 1988.
Over his career, he has played for the Dallas Mavericks, the Boston Celtics, the Denver Nuggets and most recently the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks, where he was named national college player of the year in 2004. Drafted 20th overall in the 2004 NBA draft, Nelson spent the first ten years of his NBA career with the Orlando Magic. In 2009, he was named an All-Star and helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals. He has also played for the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.
On October 22, 2017, Nelson signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.
