After 22 straight years of playoff teams and intensity, Gregg Popovich mellowed out with his recent Spurs teams. A longtime friend says that time is over.
Was talking here at the combine with someone who’s known Gregg Popovich a long time. Mentioned to him how genuinely pleasant Pop has been to be around the last couple of years when the games haven’t mattered.
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) May 17, 2023
“Yeah, well, welcome back,” he said.
Popovich seemed genuinely relaxed with last year's Spurs, a very young team that dealt away veterans DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl in the last two years. Pop is generally known for his prickly exterior - most in evidence during the in-game interviews he loathes, or whenever he thought he got a dumb question from reporters.
For Gregg Popovich's birthday, we look back at some of his greatest interviews.
— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2019
Never change, Pop pic.twitter.com/nliOMXuCIC
But last season, Coach Pop was downright light-hearted as the Spurs went 22-60. Probably because he expected them to stink.
“I probably shouldn’t say this,” Gregg Popovich says.
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) September 26, 2022
He leans into the microphone.
“Nobody here…”
Pause.
“…should go to Vegas and bet on this team to win the championship.”
When the Spurs were facing the red-hot Brooklyn Nets in January, Popovich joked that he had zero answers with his team.
Gregg Popovich on Nets amid 11-game win streak:
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 2, 2023
“I don’t have anything new to use to stop them. Don’t tell anyone I said that, because I’m supposed to know things.”
Lots of jokes from Pop here.
Now, the Spurs have the first pick in the draft, which will almost certainly be used on French big man Victor Wembanyama. That likely means Popovich is going to care about wins and losses again, and his close friends expect much more intensity and far fewer smiles.
But it's incorrect to think that Popovich has no sense of humor, despite how hard he has been on players over the years. Tony Parker was famously coached extremely hard by Popovich during his 17 years in San Antonio. When the Spurs retired Parker's number, Popovich had jokes about the harsh treatment.
"Tony, I want to apologize for all the physical and mental abuse ..."
— ESPN (@espn) November 12, 2019
Gregg Popovich gives a speech the only way he can, with jokes and kind words, on Tony Parker's jersey retirement night. #MerciTony pic.twitter.com/Lc5DUloCaX
He was also willing to do the hard work with Parker, as a fellow "talent."
Gregg Popovich, the winningest coach of all-time, has always had jokes pic.twitter.com/FSlSh0YaLi
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) March 12, 2022
One reason Popovich can get away with his scowling intensity is that it's balanced out with genuine generosity and care for his players. Plus lots and lots of wine. Popovich often has the Spurs fly out in the morning rather than after games, to allow for elaborate team dinners where he selects all the wine and picks up the check.
And as much as Popovich cares about winning, he'll also sacrifice a foul just to prank an opposing player, like when he employed the "Hack-a-Shaq" five seconds into the 2008 season. Shaquille O'Neal was confused until he saw Coach Pop giving him a double thumbs-up from the bench.
Remember when Gregg Popovich plays a "Hack-a-Shaq" joke on @SHAQ pic.twitter.com/0wCIsNaS7i
— Sports Central (@CarmeloJreal) December 6, 2022
Wembanyama needs to watch out for Coach Pop when he gets angry next year. But he also needs to watch out for hilarious pranks. That's the Popovich way.
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