One of the greatest coaches in NBA history Gregg Popovich officially announced his retirement from coaching this offseason after missing most of this season after suffering a stroke. The San Antonio Spurs legend will move into a front office role with the franchise, but over his 29 seasons as a head coach, he developed a number of long-lasting relationships throughout the league, including with Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James.
James has faced off with Popovich’s Spurs in the NBA Finals three times and also played under him in the 2004 Olympics when the latter was an assistant coach under Larry Brown. And in the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, LeBron showered Popovich with praise as a coach and a person:
“There’s no way we even start this conversation without talking about Pop and what he means for the game and obviously for the NBA, San Antonio, West Point, all the stops that he had. To be able to cross paths, we’ve crossed paths with Coach Pop so many times and I had one opportunity to actually play for him in the Olympics in 2004. And obviously going against him three times in the NBA Finals. I mean, what can you say. You talk about the superlatives when it comes to Coach Pop, his list is out of this world. But I think what a lot of people have found out if you ever got an opportunity to encounter a one-on-one with him or even just in cross, how great of a f—ing guy that guy is. And it makes sense with how unbelieve of a coach he was because of the person he was.”
James would continue on, reflecting on his time with Popovich at the Olympics in 2004 and the overall admiration he has for the legendary coach:
“It was just the admiration. For me, I was just an 18-year-old kid and I got an opportunity to see it when they won a championship in ’99 and then when they won it again I believe in 2003. So I already had admiration for Pop and his San Antonio teams. I was on the team, I was a young guy alongside Carmelo Anthony, we were young guys, Dwyane Wade, we were super young and to be a part of that team, obviously we didn’t succeed like we wanted to succeed. But to be on a team with like Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan and Coach Pop, Larry Brown, that was just like another welcome to what greatness is all about. To see what Coach Pop has left this game as far as controlling the sidelines for as long as he did and the amount of wins that you just mentioned, the amount of championships, great players that he’s seen come through the San Antonio franchise. It’s just been a complete honor and for me to have a real personal relationship with him that every time I see him, it’s just so much respect and so much honor. He definitely will be missed… Obviously we know health is most important, but we cannot shy away from the fact of what he was able to accomplish on the sidelines.”
Popovich certainly had a lot of battles with both LeBron and the Lakers over the years, but there is no questioning his impact as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league as a five-time NBA Champion and the winningest coach ever.
Popovich was not just an amazing coach, but is also a truly special human being and while it is great that he will still be involved in the game as an executive with the Spurs, he will be missed on the sidelines.
