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Jared Weiss: Keldon Johnson recited an ancient Popovichian proverb when asked about the Spurs' league-best sixth 5-game winning streak since the start of last season. “It's just a testament of pounding the rock. We continue to pound the rock. We continue to stay with it and, I mean, the tide turned.”
Back when they were members of Gregg Popovich's Spurs coaching staff, Mitch Johnson and Will Hardy had a blast as teammates in the assistants' pickup basketball games. "We never got to play one-on-one (basketball)," Johnson said. "That would be a very slow, painful matchup."
Johnson's quip reflects the bond the young coaches share. In his second season as leader of the Spurs, Johnson counts Hardy, who is in his fifth season guiding the Utah Jazz, as one of his best friends in the profession. "I hope he loses only the (three) games we play (against each other)," Johnson said. "He's a good person."
The Spurs and Jazz play again for the final time this season Nov. 15 at the Delta Center. The friendship between the coaches began in 2016 after Johnson joined the Spurs as an asxsistant with the Austin Spurs in the G League following a one-year stint as an assistant at the University of Portland. When the Spurs promoted Johnson to Popovich's staff in 2019, Hardy, who joined the Spurs before the 2015-16 season, helped show him the ropes. "Will Hardy and Chip Engelland were the two guys that took me under their wings and definitely helped me with the unwritten rules and the lay of the land," Johnson said.
Fullcourtpass: Victor Wembanyama says he learned a lesson in humility from Gregg Popovich “He often said something when we were in film, ‘After a win, you're rarely as good as you thought you were, and after a loss you're rarely as bad as you thought you were.’” (Via @60Minutes) x.com/60Minutes/stat
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NBA legend Gregg Popovich definitely knows ball, but does he know bro code? The former San Antonio Spurs head coach is remarried ... to his assistant coach's ex ... TMZ has learned. According to a marriage license obtained by TMZ ... Popovich has tied the knot with Mary Barth Budenholzer, formerly known as Mrs. Mike Budenholzer ... who worked very closely with Coach Pop to win 5 NBA Championship rings for the Spurs.
The newlyweds exchanged wedding rings September 16 in Texas ... according to the marriage license filed in Bexar County, TX. Mike coached under Gregg (NBA fans just call him Pop) as an assistant for the Spurs for almost 20 years -- from 1996 to 2013 -- before leaving to become head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. We don't know exactly when Mary and Pop started their personal championship run to the altar, but here's what we do know.
Mike and Mary quietly divorced in 2016 ... and then in 2018, Pop's first wife, Erin Popovich, died after battling an undisclosed severe illness. Now here we are in 2026 ... Pop and Mary are hitched -- they attended Spurs games together last season -- and Mike's got a new relationship, too.
Addressing his late friend, Gregg Popovich pulled back the curtain on his strategic blueprint. “Most of the stuff that I ran in San Antonio I stole from you. And I just tweaked it because I had different players,” he admitted. Surveying the crowd, Popovich admitted to feeling ‘a little PTSD’ while looking at former on-court rivals in the audience. Yet, the atmosphere remained overwhelmingly warm as he emphasized Nelson’s immense impact on everyone in the room. The 77-year-old tactician described Nelson as a uniquely special person whose gruff exterior masked a heart ‘bigger than the moon’ and ‘soft as marshmallows’, perfectly capturing the duality of a fierce competitor who remained a gentle, generous soul to those he loved.
Gregg Popovich told his boss, Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson, that he had a five-year deal on the table with annual raises of $50,000. Popovich told Nelson he loved working for him in Golden State and wasn’t sure whether he should take it. “He said, ‘You big dummy, Poppo, you’re going back there,’” Popovich recalled. “‘And this is how you are going to do it. Call them back and say, ‘Add $50,000 to my first year. From there, $50,000 on top of that.’ So at the end, after five years, you will have made $250,000 more. That will pay for your house.’” Popovich was one of nearly a dozen Basketball Hall of Famers who gathered inside the Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church on Thursday for a ceremony to honor Nelson, who died Sunday at 86.
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Was it a relief to make it to the Hall of Fame? Doc Rivers: I believed that I was going to get in at some point. But it was a relief that I was in. I wanted to get in while I was still coaching, and I achieved that. I championed that. I really fought early on for Pop [Gregg Popovich]. I’ve always got something I’m fighting for. I just felt like Steve Kerr, myself, Spo [Erik Spoelstra, should be Hall of Famers]. College coaches get to coach and be [named] “Hall of Fame coach.” But [active] NBA coaches rarely get that. I really believe it would have saved some of these guys’ jobs, like George Karl. … His career should have been in the Hall. Then he gets in after he leaves [coaching]. But would he still have been coaching if he was “Hall of Fame coach George Karl?” So, it’s a big thing for me, and I’m still pushing to get Rick Carlisle in now. It’s so funny. I’m in, but now I’m still working for NBA coaches.
In 31 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors (twice), New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, Nelson finished with a regular-season record of 1,335-1,063. He retired with the most coaching wins ever, a mark that was broken by the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich in March 2022. Nelson made 18 playoff appearances as a coach, finishing with a 75-91 postseason record. As a player, Nelson won five NBA titles in 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics, who retired his No. 19 jersey in 1978. Overall, he played 14 seasons in the NBA. Immediately following his playing career, Nelson joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach for the 1976-77 season. Just 15 games into that season, he was promoted to head coach after Larry Costello was fired.
Gregg Popovich is moving in a positive direction as he continues to recover from his health issues. San Antonio Spurs CEO RC Buford provided the uplifting update on the basketball legend in his recent appearance on Trashtalk. “He continues to rehab with more purpose and diligence than I think any of us could have imagined," Buford revealed when asked about Popovich's current health status. "He’s improving, and his presence is always there to support the team.”