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“Coach Pop’s office was right next to mine and I was very fortunate,” Sweeney said. “When you’re next to a guy who’s the greatest coach of all time daily, the fact that he even said hello and knew my name meant something to me. So yeah, Coach Pop, he built that program and guys like me are fortunate to be part of it. I’m very grateful and that’s part of the reason why I’m here now.”
Tom Petrini: Mike Brown shouts out Popovich when asked about blocking out the noise: "The term is a bunker mentality, it's actually something that I learned from Pop back in the early 2000s when you get to this level, or you're playing in a bigger market, especially, there's going to be a lot of noise, and you're going to hit some adversity throughout the course of the season, and this is what I talked about when I said, you know, you hope you hit adversity, because you want to see how everybody reacts, not just the players. I want to see how Mr. Dolan was going to react. I want to see how Leon Rose is going to react, their group, and on top of the players, because you know one of them, all of them can get pissed at me and say, 'Screw this, we're done,' or you could try to keep fighting, stay even keeled, and try to figure it out, and that will only help you the further along you get in the playoffs. And right now, the amount of media and noise that's outside is something that the guys, most guys, haven't seen, and so trying to continue to ignore it, they're human, so they're going to hear some of it."
Tom Orsborn: Stephon Castle on Gregg Popovich speaking to team before it left for NYC: "Pretty much his message was just let the last two games go. It happened. They were very winnable games. We feel like we gave them those games. We got to let those go and focus on the next one."
Brown has coached some of the league’s biggest stars, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. He coached under some of the most venerated coaches, including Popovich and Steve Kerr. But now, for the first time in his career, the Larry O’Brien Trophy is within his grasp as the head of a locker room. Brown points to his time under Popovich as one of the biggest reasons he has arrived at this moment. “It was huge,” Brown said. “Pop — I talk about MSG being iconic, New York City being iconic — Pop is iconic, especially here in San Antonio. When you talk about the game of basketball, he’s iconic to everybody that enjoys the game of basketball.”
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Run It Back: Derrick White says it's tough to pick a favorite favorite Gregg Popovich story from his time with the Spurs 💯 "Off the court he shows you he's human and cares about you as a human."
Part of that comes from some of those Spurs of old who are still lurking in the halls. Longtime coach Gregg Popovich has become significantly more present with the team in his “El Jefe” role, which has ranged from greeting the team at the airport to calling players after games to give them feedback. “I saw Pop right away when we landed,” Wembanyama said. “The emotion was really something I haven’t felt in a while. I don’t even know since when.” Horry sees it as Popovich’s new way of staying in the mix and putting his heart into the team. “This city is him, and he is this city,” Horry said. “And I think, for me, that’s his way of just being involved and having the opportunity to still put his thumbprint on the game.”
Fox said their value doesn’t come from big speeches or demonstrative acts of “back in my day.” It’s little tidbits about a box out or an extra pass. These are small edges that add up to the edge. “Pop’s favorite saying when I was playing was, bring a little nasty to the game,” Horry said. “You think about their guards, they all play with a little nastiness. So you got to be aggressive. You got to have the mentality that you’re not going to get, I use the word punked, or you’re just going to go out and play hard and let whatever happens, happen.”
Johnson, meanwhile, joined the organization in 2016 as an assistant for San Antonio's G League affiliate team, the Austin Spurs, and was promoted in 2019 as an assistant on Popovich's bench. Although the dynamic of the relationship has changed somewhat due to their current roles, Johnson said the core of their bond remains unchanged. "The relationship has stayed the same in terms of feedback, discussion, challenging each other, me asking him a lot of questions, him giving me a lot of wisdom," Johnson said. "He's a pretty good resource for what I've been walking through since October and up until now. I cannot have created a better rhythm or build-out of him being a constant resource for me, but then also totally giving me the freedom and runway to try to roll this thing out in my own reflection as myself. That's pretty valuable. "To be honest, I don't know if anyone's ever had that opportunity that I've had this year. I don't take that for granted. It's not lost on me the impact he's had, while also empowering me to be myself. He, R.C., the whole family, people that have been in our organization for a long time, have really set an environment of how one operates and interacts with each other in our building and within our program. It allows people to hopefully feel valued and be themselves while also understanding how competitive and how hard we have to work to be where we want to be."
Victor Wembanyama admitted that seeing Gregg Popovich after the team advanced to the Finals brought out emotions he had not felt in a long time. Still, he stressed that San Antonio must now reset mentally and understand that the biggest challenge is still ahead. "I saw Pop right away when we landed, and the emotion was really something I haven't felt in a while," Wembanyama said. "Coming back down from this is a challenge and it's not done yet. We still need to really come back down to earth and realize that we haven't done the hardest yet, the job isn't done at all," he added.
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Wembanyama had already opened up about Popovich shortly after the Spurs' win over Oklahoma City, saying he needed to speak with his longtime mentor as soon as possible. "Pop goes through some things we can't even imagine. I need to call him," Wembanyama said. "I need to see him, I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels. When I talk to him, it's gonna be only a story in my head, except if I record it in secret, but I need to talk to him so quick."
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander referenced the reality that Presti isn’t one to stand still. He analyzes. He innovates. He corrects. If he learned anything from the legendary Gregg Popovich and famed Spurs executive R.C. Buford during his early years with the Spurs that led to his Thunder rise, it was that. League sources have long maintained that Oklahoma City would not take part in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes that will dominate the summertime conversation, but this sort of stunning finish is enough to re-spark that conversation. Nothing should be off the table when the end goal wasn’t reached.
Oh No He Didn’t: Wemby: "(Pop) goes through some things we can't even imagine. I need to call him. I need to see him, I need to talk to him because there's no way I can understand right now how he feels. When I talk to him, it's gonna be only a story in my head, except if I record it in secret but I need to talk him so quick"
Bibi: Exactly. LeBron misses his shot, the Spurs play the possession, and I have someone next to me who was not only on the floor, but also on the bench and may have some insight. One of the best rebounders in NBA history is not on the floor. The Spurs are playing smaller. I understand it was to defend the three-point line, but— Tony Parker: It was to defend the switch. It was not to defend the three-point line. It was to defend the switch. Pop preferred having Boris for the switch rather than Tim. After that, with coaching choices, you never really know. That has been said and repeated. It is clear that most people would have preferred Duncan to be on the floor. But as a player, with things like that, you never know. It is difficult.