Spurs center Jock Landale talks about how Popovich helps his players grow as men, including unique assignments to present to the team. 1:14 For nearly two decades, the San Antonio Spurs player has had hundreds of dinners and countless talks with the team's coach. Popovich showed up at the door of the player at 1 in the morning with wine to cheer him up. One dinner above all the famous dinners with Pop will always stand out. It was a restaurant by the hotel, and the Spurs guard could not forget it. At a Miami restaurant named seagull in Italian, stunned players were crying and looking at one another in disbelief as Pop consoled each Spur. The Spurs were seconds away from celebrating another championship when Ray Allen hit one of the most famous shots in NBA Finals history. The Miami Heat won Game 6 in overtime before taking the NBA title, which was as crushing a blow to the Spurs as any during the Popovich era. Pop gathered his team and stuck to his routine. "It was almost the championship won, but Pop said to win it together," said the pain still audible in his voice nearly a decade later. Together, lose it. Man has to eat. We ate together. Not even the best Italian dishes and wine on the Miami waterfront could remove the bitter taste of Allen's shot or the offensive rebound Chris Bosh snatched over him before finding Allen in the corner for the 3. Ray Allen hit a corner 3-pointer to send the Heat to overtime against the Spurs in the NBA Finals. Danny Green had a last-second attempt to send the series to a seventh game. A championship was lost that night. As players were replaying the catch-and-shoot Allen 3 in their heads, Popovich did what many of those closest to him say is what makes him the greatest of all time: He is there for friends and players, telling them the truth and sharing there is. He went one table at a time with different players and tried to cheer us up when we were devastated. Popovich is tied with Don Nelson for the most wins in NBA history with 1,335. The victories are a testament to the 73-year-old's ability to adapt to a constantly changing game and to nurture relationships. Popovich has a knack for putting things in perspective no matter what. One of his phrases is "If this is the worst thing that happened to you in your life, you got a very lucky, blessed and fortunate life." The Spurs beat the Heat in Miami a year later to win their fifth championship. He demands the most out of you, and the one thing that makes him great is the day after, the following day or even on Christmas Day. You are drinking wine and talking. Whatever happened in the game did not happen. There are more stories about Popovich's ability to impact lives in ways that go beyond the game for every one of his 1,335 wins. The winningest NBA coach is so successful because of what others who have worked with and played for him say. A 19-year-old from France, Tony Parker, joined the NBA as a point guard. He was the 2007 Finals Most Valuable Player after winning four titles with Popovich. During Christmas, we were supposed to have dinner. We were not going to work. I was in his room working on film for the next game. Don't stop working. His work ethic, his desire to win, and his toughness are the things that I can best describe him. He was like a second father to me. I'm very blessed to have him for my entire career. The way that he got along with everybody is what makes him the greatest coach of all time. Very happy for Pop. That is a great achievement. David Robinson was a member of the Spurs for 14 seasons and won two titles. The full 30 for 30 library, premium articles from our NBA insiders, and more are available. You will be able to get everything on the Disney+ network if you sign up now. One of the things I think is funny is how Pop handles different people. Mario Elie was taking bad shots at the film while we were watching it. Pop said, "Come on, Mario." Mario was like, "Come on, Pop, good shot, bad shot?" I have to get my game on. Pop just laughed. The way he handles them is the way he handles them. He knows when to push and when to back off. He has been a great encourager over the years. Most of the people that have played here think Pop is in your corner. Which is not always the case with other coaches. Mike Brown was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Spurs and saw how Popovich cares for his players off the court. I will never forget that we brought a strength coach in as an intern, not getting paid much money at all. His internship was over. He was a youth counselor in Colorado. Pop bought the young man a brand new Nissan SUV because he knew that the young man didn't have the means to get to his destination and start his new life. I was going through a separation and my boys were living in Colorado with their mom. They were out here for about a week and my sister was going to take them back because we were about to go on the road. When I dropped them off at the airport, the team plane was not far away. The boys were crying at the gate because they didn't want to go. I was going to be late. I was torn. My kids are having a hard time getting on the plane to go back, so I called Pop and said I would be there. I told him that I was going to Chicago and that he should just stay here. The kids will be fine, I told Pop. I said, "Pop, come on man!" He said, "If you show up to this plane, you're fired." I am packed and ready. If I see you on this plane, I will fire you. He is hanging up on me. I stayed with the kids for three more days. Two stories off the top of my head shows his true character. When DeMar DeRozan was in San Antonio, he and the Spurs got a life lesson from Nat Geo-style. Pop made us watch a movie about penguins. It was fascinating. It was learning how to work together. How to come together and go after the same goal. It was going to be a day where we watched film. We watched a full movie of penguins. How they move. The males watch the eggs while the female goes out for months to collect food. The craziest thing they did was walk 60 miles to the water and back while the males watched. Everyone is playing their role. But to look at it from the perspective of penguins, that is some Pop s---. Monty Williams was a part of the Spurs family before he became the Phoenix coach. He played for the Spurs from 1996 to 1998. He began his coaching career as an intern with the Spurs in 2004, and then spent two seasons in the front office as vice president of basketball operations. Popovich wanted to visit Williams after his wife died in a car accident. I always thought that he was not understood. He could stand up for his beliefs. The way he cared for me, during a tough time in my life, told me everything I needed to know about him. He was hurt when I wouldn't let him fly up. He had a lot on his plate. I said, "Pop, I'm getting on the plane to come." I am good. He told me that I had to let people help me. I had been around him since the 90s. He had been looking at me. He knew that I was my own worst enemy. He knew that the person I trusted was gone. He was trying to get that across to me. He cared enough to tell me the truth, so I would get off and look at my phone. That is the thing that has stuck out in our relationship. Pop, my football coach, who invited me to church and who was my high school coach, is the most important person in my life because of the care he had for me. He said those words to me on a tough day in my life. With tonight's victory, Coach Popovich became the fastest coach to 1,300 career wins in NBA history and is the 3rd to achieve this milestone 👏💯 pic.twitter.com/LeZmoTtOLP Don Nelson was one of the top 10 coaches of all time and held the all-time wins record until Popovich surpassed him. He is the greatest coach to ever lace them up. He was an assistant coach in Golden State in 1992 and I thought he could learn from me. I learned more from him than I did from me. When I hired him, I met him for the first time when he flew in to get an interview. I think I hired him the same day. I thought that he was a guy that I should have had. He is everything and more than I thought he would be. He set up a summer league for young kids to play in and stay off the streets when he was in Golden State. They played from 10 to 2 in the morning. He got an award for that. He was with the kids. It was in Oakland. Hundreds of kids were involved in the program. It was wonderful. He did a great job of keeping the kids out of trouble. After 17 years as a Spurs assistant, Mike Budenholzer became the Atlanta Hawks' head coach. He won a championship as a coach. I will say that if they don't have a sense of humor, they probably won't last in San Antonio. It was a huge deal to have a sense of humor. He likes to be around people that are smart and self-deprecating. If they can't laugh at themselves and don't have that self-deprecation that he has, it's kind of red flags. I will let you know that it is real. It is a real checkmark that you have to pass. Steve Kerr and Pop went back a long way, with the former Spurs guard winning two titles with San Antonio. Kerr was on the USA Olympic coaching staff that won gold in the 2020 Games in Tokyo. He is a private person. I don't know if he would want the stories to be made public. He values the privacy of the people around him. I can tell you that he snuck some wine into the Tokyo Hilton and I hope they don't extradite him and punish him retroactively. The meetings that the coaches had in Tokyo were amazing. Being a part of a master class in leadership, camaraderie and chemistry is just beautiful. It was amazing to watch him work behind the scenes. It was different to be on his staff, but I played for him for four years. From 2007 to 2016 Chad Forcier was an assistant coach for the Spurs. He won a title with the Spurs. One that shines the light on the human element, in terms of his awareness, his compassion for human beings and just always being so quick to recognize that need to try to help somebody in a moment, we had dinner at Ristorante Sotto Sotto. It is an incredibly cold night in Toronto. It might be five degrees out. Pop had a jacket. Do you remember the brand? He had a jacket. He throws it on and we walk back to the Four Seasons. We see a homeless man. It is the worst place in the NBA on this night of any city, because there are six or seven of us walking. Pop sees him, maybe takes a stride past him and notices him against a doorway, stops and reaches into his pocket. I don't know how much money he had, but he put a bunch of money in his coat pocket and laid it over the homeless man to keep him warm. The guy is asleep. Pop is wearing a dress shirt while we walk. And off we go. In the next two years, the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs will play each other in the NBA Finals, which will forever be linked to Popovich. The coach won his second championship in a seven-game series against San Antonio. The head coach of the 2021 Select Team was also the head coach of the 2020 U.S. Olympic team. Saturday, March 12
Bucks at Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (on ABC)Managing a team, even on Christmas
Elie has to get his 'game on'
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Pathfinder Pop shows compassion in multiple ways
Pop and penguins
'He cared enough to tell me the truth'
'I learned more from him than he learned from me'
A sense of humor is mandatory in San Antonio
Pop's 'master class' at the Olympics
'Remember the brand Pelle Pelle?'
'There's a Popovich mafia'
Sunday, March 13
Knicks at Nets, 1:00 p.m. (on ABC)
Mavericks at Celtics, 3:30 p.m. (on ABC)
Lakers at Suns, 9:00 p.m. on ESPN
All times Eastern.
We are extremely grateful to have that opportunity with two organizations and the Spurs. I worked with him for two and a half weeks with the Team USA program. We can talk about his Hall of Fame, basketball credentials, but I just love him as a human being and how he makes you feel like you matter. Everyone is in the room. His human management ability is the best I have ever seen.
You know what I said about it? I have never been involved in the USA program. I was very excited about the chance to be a part of it. I finally mentioned to Pop that I have been a part of the Pat Riley and Popovich mafias for a long time. I am very grateful that you have allowed me to be a part of it, because we have all the different families.
After working in the basketball operations department at the Spurs, Taylor was an intern in the G League and later coached the team in Austin before joining Budenholzer's staff in Atlanta and Milwaukee. He is the coach of the Memphis Grizzles.
It was at the end of their season that I had the most fond memory of Pop. I was an assistant coach at the time. The one seed, the Spurs, played the eight seed, Memphis, in the first round of the playoffs. The series was a grind-it-out affair and the Spurs were defeated. I remember getting a phone call from the front office that said Pop would like to invite you to his house with all the coaches and the players for an end-of-season party.
All the players and their families were there. He invited the entire D League staff, and we had a great meal, knowing that life is going to go on. We should celebrate what was a great season, not just go out and have these months ahead of us.
He showed off his wine cellar. He had his favorite chef from his favorite restaurant in San Francisco who he was friends with, fly to San Antonio to make the entire meal for everyone. I was amazed at the camaraderie, the family atmosphere, and the togetherness while I was in the gym. Everyone was stinging in the back of their minds.
Danny Green talks about interviewing his former coach, Gregg Popovich.
You can see how Pop brings people together. He said, "Hey, we still have a lot to enjoy, and we can see that moment when a championship was probably within their reach." It was great to enjoy each other. He had a huge smile on his face all day long, as he was socializing in the kitchen and on the patio, taking people to his wine cellar, and kids playing by the pool. For him to embrace me and the entire D League staff was really special, knowing that everyone was a part of this journey.
Popovich and the Spurs put on a full-court press for Kidd in the summer of 2003 when he was the top free agent. Kidd originally committed to the Spurs, but changed his mind and signed with the Nets. The Dallas Mavericks are coached by Kidd.
If I remember correctly, there was a chef in the suite cooking breakfast. I was amazed. It was a great visit, sitting with him and Duncan, and then going to the practice facility, where the presentation was very impressive.
They brought me down in San Antonio and told me how I would fit in with the other guys. I left after committing to them. Things changed when I returned to Jersey. I am not sure if he took it well. But amazing, amazing human being, amazing coach. I still think about what it would have been like if I had committed to San Antonio.
Pop just told the truth. We need your talent. He doesn't beat around the bush so we want you to be a part of this. He told me what he expected. I was on the plane. I thought I was going to San Antonio. I was excited, but things changed. Youngmisuk was unfortunately.
Utah hired Dennis Lindsey as their general manager after he was the vice president and assistant general manager of the Spurs. He is an advisor to the Jazz.
The dinners are famous. We have tried to opt out of the double dinners because we were getting too fat. Pop spent a lot of time looking for restaurants, menus, wine menus and so on. There is a person trying to skip out on dinner. Steve Kerr and Danny Ferry were trying to figure out what restaurant Pop would go to so they could get a free meal. Danny and I decided to skip a course or two because we were getting too portly in the playoffs against the Clippers. There are 20 guys at the table. Pop was researching the restaurant. He was the first one at the restaurant and everybody tried to beat him. Danny and I are skipping these courses. Don't think I don't know that you're trying to skip courses! Get your ass eating!
The greatest gift of the San Antonio program is that there is a lot of us that would be in basketball, coaching high school or small college basketball.
The Spurs drafted Dejounte Murray in the first round. He was selected to his first All-Star Game last month and is enjoying his best season as a pro.
Pop doesn't like praise. He does not like that. It is a good thing. You want to remind him of his success because it is rare. He wants to focus on winning every day. He never praises himself.
We don't talk about it, but we are going to enjoy it when we get the record for him because he is a great man. He embraces his players from the first day. He is deserving of everything. I look forward to getting that for him because it will be important and good for him.
| Coach | Games played | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Gregg Popovich* | 2,029 | 1,335 |
| Don Nelson | 2,398 | 1,335 |
| Lenny Wilkens | 2,487 | 1,332 |
| Jerry Sloan | 2,024 | 1,221 |
| Pat Riley | 1,904 | 1,210 |
| George Karl | 1,999 | 1,175 |
| Phil Jackson | 1,640 | 1,155 |
| Larry Brown | 2,002 | 1,098 |
| Rick Adelman | 1,791 | 1,042 |
| Doc Rivers* | 1,760 | 1,032 |
| * Active coaches |
P.J. Carlesimo was a head coach in the NBA for nine seasons. He spent five seasons on Popovich's staff as an assistant and is now an analyst for the NBA.
In the five years that I was there, we won three titles. To me, he is a good coach because of his ability to relate with his players both on and off the court. He spends a lot more time off the court in terms of his relationships with his players than most coaches do, it is his ability to connect with people and his genuine care for them that comes across to players. I think that enhances his ability to be demanding. He is more of a positive guy than a negative one. Guys want to play for him because he cares about them.
There is a constant dialogue going on with people who have been part of the program over the years. Food is part of that. If you have people with you, just bring them to dinner. If a player or an assistant coach is in a restaurant, he picks up the tab. He is putting down a personal credit card, not a San Antonio credit card.
Antonio Daniels won a title with the Spurs.
I will tell you why I think he is the greatest coach in the history of the sport. He has the ability to change in different eras. Other people cannot do that. No disrespect to any other coach. Some coaches were successful in one style. If that style and the way the roster is constructed doesn't fit with that particular coaching style, then it doesn't work. Pop can change his offensive style according to his personnel. His ability to adapt as a coach is amazing.
In 1996, Joe Prunty started his NBA career as an assistant video coach for the Spurs. He won three titles in San Antonio as an assistant coach for the Spurs.
One of the things he taught me was that he wants to win the next game. Are we ready for it? How do we do it? It is not about me. It is about what we can do.
He is competitive. He has been since I first met him, knowing the stories about him at the academy and how he has built and been in meetings and strategizing. He brings the best out of people, and he is demanding. He wants you to be great and so the players that have gone through the program and the success that they have had, not only as players and moving on to different teams, but also in becoming coaches and general.
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