A early December 1996, coach bob hill was dismissed by the Spurs. Gregg Popovich, until then general manager and director of operations of the franchise, he named himself. Have been met recently 25 years of that and there he remains immovable in office, recognized as one of the best minds in the basketball universe and collecting records. The last, be the first coach in NBA history to lead 2,000 games with the same team. His is high fidelity to the basket and the Spurs.
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Popovich is the sixth technician to reach that colossal figure, but he has another of greater magnitude in sight: being the coach with the most victories in the history of the NBA. He has 1,325 wins and is only 10 away from equaling Don Nelson’s record. Soon it will also surpass the record of Lenny Wilkens. His team should be given tremendously poorly for failing to do so in the next few months.
It would be one more achievement in the career of a legendary coach, winner of five rings between 1999 and 2014, which offers an idea of the longevity of your success. He led the Spurs to play in the playoffs in 22 consecutive seasons and in all of them above 50% of victories. Olympic gold in Such it was the icing on the cake. Only Wilkens, Chuck Daily and Rudy Tomjanovich had won the NBA and the Games as coaches..
I can’t imagine playing 100 games with guys who are assholes
Gregg Popovich, Spurs coach
“My greatest merit is having selected Tim Duncan in the draft.”, he usually jokes. Also having known how to guide players like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili y Kawhi Leonard, the other mainstays of their champion teams. “I don’t want to go train with problem players. I can’t imagine playing 100 games with guys who are idiots,” he says as part of his philosophy.
Influence on world basketball
To understand the figure of Popovich, one would have to add to his victories a tremendous influence on world basketball. Numerous coaches have studied the game of their Spurs and have traveled to San Antonio to see how the team works. Not to mention the quarry that that bench has meant. Steve Kerr played two years for him and Mike Budenholzer, James Borrego and Ime Udoka, now in charge of NBA teams, worked as his assistants..
In a profession in which labor mobility is extraordinary, the surprising Popovich longevity on the same team. Accumulate more games in the NBA than 14 current coaches combined and more victories than the sum of 15 of them, half of the total. It is not known if those numbers will be able to continue growing much more. There has been speculation for a long time about a withdrawal that, fortunately, never comes, but, Perhaps, having already reached 72 years of age, we are facing his last active season. “Basketball is not the most important thing. I think about life, which is very short,” he says.
