As Gregg Popovich’s legendary coaching career comes to a close, take a look back at his 29 iconic seasons with San Antonio.
The news Friday that San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich is stepping away from his coaching duties had NBA heads swimming. Popovich, 76, will serve as Spurs president of basketball operations as he continues to battle the effects of a stroke suffered in November.
Everyone around the league has favorite memories of Popovich, whether on or off the court. His competitive ways, his innovation in crafty and criticized tactics (he basically invented “load management”) and his sometimes curmudgeonly comments were all part of his portfolio. Here are 10 that “pop” when reflecting on Popovich:
1. The stat that pops out
Popovich compiled enough achievements and statistics to justify three or four Hall of Fame enshrinements. But the marquee number by far is 1,422. That’s his victory total, which is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon, if at all. No active coach other than Doc Rivers (1,162) has even 1,000 victories, and at 50 a year going forward, it would take more than five more seasons for Rivers to reach it.
By the way, Popovich got to 1,300 more than four seasons faster (in 1,934 games) than Don Nelson (2,290) or Lenny Wilkens (2,417), the only other NBA coaches to top 1,300. (For the record, the Spurs’ 34-48 mark this season goes on Popovich’s totals because Mitch Johnson officially was an “interim” replacement.)
2. The game that pops out
On March 11, 2022, guard Dejounte Murray scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help San Antonio seal a 104-102 victory over Utah. It was only the Spurs’ 26th of the season, but it happened to be the 1,336th of Popovich’s coaching career – one more than Nelson’s total, making Popovich the NBA’s winningest coach ever.
Two things of note: Nelson was the man who hired Popovich in 1992 as an assistant in Golden State after Popovich had been flushed out of San Antonio with boss Larry Brown and his staff after four seasons. And Murray, 25 years old on the memorable March 11 night, hadn’t been born when Popovich’s second stint with the Spurs began on May 31, 1994, initially as GM and VP of basketball operations.
3. The interview that pops out
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich welcomes Craig Sager back to the sideline during the Grizzlies-Spurs game from 2015.
Popovich was notorious for his gruff impatience with the NBA’s end-of-quarter interviews with TV sideline reporters. The mere thought of working a Spurs game could panic a newcomer to the field. Even seasoned vets knew they had to be precise in their questions, lest Popovich mock or dismiss them.
That wasn’t the case in 2015, however, when TNT’s Craig Sager – the gold standard and peacock-attired in the field – stood next to the Spurs coach for some game wisdom. Sager had returned to work after battling the cancer that would end his life in 2016, and Popovich’s appreciation and friendship were evident to all.
“I can honestly tell you this is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview we’re required to do. That’s because you’re here and you’re back with us.”
Popovich put an arm around Sager’s shoulder and pulled him close.
Said the coach: “Welcome back. Now ask me a couple of inane questions…”
4. The hardware that pops out
There has been plenty of it. There’s the five Larry O’Brien trophies that Popovich guided San Antonio to. His three NBA Coach of the Year awards, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ring and jacket he got when he was inducted almost grudgingly in August 2023.
But we’re going with the 2020 Olympic men’s basketball championship that Popovich led Team USA to in Tokyo. Coaches apparently don’t actually receive gold medals of their own, but the symbolism was plenty. After all, as a player out of the Air Force Academy, he had been one of the 66 invitees to try out for the 1972 U.S.team that infamously felt cheated out of its gold by late-game clock shenanigans and referee rulings in the finale against the U.S.S.R. Popovich had been an assistant with five other USA Basketball national teams, helping them to one gold and one bronze. But the 2020 edition, having taken over for Mike Krzyzewski, was all his.
5. The quote that pops out
The NBA’s pendulum toward 3-point mania was in full swing in November 2018 when Popovich opened a vein before a game in Chicago and shared his true feelings on the landscape moving beneath his and the Spurs’ feet.
“These days there’s such an emphasis on the 3 because it’s proven to be analytically correct,” Popovich said. “Now you look at a stat sheet after a game and the first thing you look at is the 3s. If you made 3s and the other team didn’t, you win. You don’t even look at the rebounds or the turnovers or how much transition D was involved. You don’t even care.”
Then coach’s disdain for the skeeball shot really revved up.
“I hate it, but I always have,” he said. “I’ve hated the 3 for 20 years. That’s why I make a joke all the time [and say] ‘If we’re going to make it a different game, let’s have a four-point play. Because if everybody likes the 3, they’ll really like the 4.’ No.”
6. The moment that pops out
The Spurs’ record was a dreary 3-15 when Popovich, just two years into his executive position, fired coach Bob Hill on Dec. 10, 1996. Hall of Fame center David Robinson was saddled with a back injury for those 18 games. He returned to play six, broke a foot and was shut down by Christmas.
Popovich, taking over on San Antonio’s bench, seemed almost magnanimous in letting a vast quantity of inevitable defeats pile up on his rather than on Hill’s coaching record. But there was more to the plan. Popovich oversaw a 17-47 finish to the season, which sent the Spurs into the NBA Draft Lottery.
The ping-pong balls bounced their way, they leapfrogged 15-victory Boston for the No. 1 pick, and the guy waiting there to be selected was Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan. So there was a method behind Popovich’s and his franchise’s misery.
7. The win that pops out
On June 15, 2014, in San Antonio, the Spurs beat Miami 104-87 to polish off a Finals in five games that grew increasingly lopsided as it played out. That victory ended a quest for redemption that had begun the previous June in South Florida when all of them – Popovich, Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the rest – had the 2013 championship slip through their fingers (see below).
There was added significance to San Antonio’s fifth NBA title, too. It further enflamed debates that continue to this day: Does the Spurs’ run from 1999 to 2014 qualify as a “dynasty” to stand with others in league or major sports history?
It’s true that San Antonio, good as its teams were, never went back-to-back in titles, winning in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. But that core group – with Robinson for the first two – put 16 years between championships, a more extended stretch of excellence than even Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics produced from 1957 to 1969.
8. The loss that pops out
It was an unforgettable night, mostly for the right reasons but for the wrong ones for Popovich, his players and San Antonio fans. Late in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals, the Spurs had a 95-92 lead (Kawhi Leonard had just sunk one of two free throws). The NBA was poised for its trophy presentation, security personnel already holding a yellow rope to cordon off the floor at the final horn. Heat star LeBron James launched and missed a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds left. And then time seemed to slow … way … down.
Popovich had his best rebounder, Duncan, on the bench. Whaaa? That enabled Miami’s Chris Bosh to grab James’ miss and deliver the ball to Ray Allen, who backpedaled into the right corner. Allen’s shot tied it at 5.2 seconds, widely considered one of the greatest buckets in league history.
The stunned Spurs got outscored in overtime, 8-5, to fall into a 3-3 series tie. Two nights later, they got bounced 95-88, losing the Finals but setting in motion the mission of 2013-14 that paid off in such beautiful basketball the following June.
9. The speech that pops out
Popovich got a lot of attention that spilled over from outside the NBA world when he randomly expressed cultural and political opinions, frequently driven by his partisan dislike of President Donald Trump. Even some diehard Spurs fans in Texas had to grit their teeth if they happened to disagree with the basketball coach’s world views.
But one incident had Popovich grabbing a microphone with a live audience of 18,000 strong. Leonard, who was named 2014 Finals MVP with their team, was back for a November 2023 game with the Clippers. Many Spurs fans still were hurt or angry that the All-Star forward had left town, first for Toronto (where he won again), then for LA. So they booed as he shot free throws deep into the first half.
Popovich walked to the scorer’s table and grabbed the P.A. microphone.
“Excuse me for a second,” he boomed. “Please stop all the booing and let these guys play. It’s got no class, it’s not who we are. Knock off the booing.”
Afterward, Popovich was asked about his decision. Had he done it out of appreciation and respect for a great player who had competed and won for the Spurs? That’s not how Popovich initially explained it.
“You don’t poke the bear,” he said.
Pressed further, he added: “I spoke English, I just told you. Anybody who knows anything about sports knows you don’t poke the bear.”
Two days later, he offered more. “It’s kind of an indication of the world we live in today. It was hateful,” Popovich said. “It was really disrespectful, it was just mean-spirited.
“I listened to it for a while and it just got louder and louder and uglier and uglier, and I felt sorry for him, and I was embarrassed for our city, for our organization.”
10. The ‘tree branch’ that pops out
Lots of successful coaches across sports have so-called “trees,” with players or assistants who go on to become successful coaches themselves. Popovich’s tree is a veritable mighty oak in comparison to so many others, though.
Most of the active coaches in the NBA have come into contact with the Spurs legend, either by logging time on his staff or otherwise being mentored or advised, formally or informally. It literally is simpler to list the few (Nick Nurse, Chris Finch, Jordi Fernandez, David Adelman) who had no or only tangential exposure to Popovich on their way up.
The most successful? Probably Golden State’s Steve Kerr, who played four of his final seasons and won two rings under Popovich. Kerr has guided the Warriors to four championships, though he frequently cites Phil Jackson (with whom he won three rings in Chicago) as an equal influence.
Rivers wrapped up his 13-year playing career in San Antonio when Popovich was in the front office. Mike Brown and Ime Udoka took their teams to the Finals. And Mike Budenholzer spent 17 years sitting next to Popovich on the Spurs bench before jobs with Atlanta and Milwaukee, including the Bucks’ 2021 championship.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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