San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was in the middle of a preseason contest on Wednesday. His mind was apparently elsewhere throughout the game.
The Spurs defeated the Houston Rockets 117-103 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The non-bearing NBA game overlapped with the Las Vegas Aces’ series-clinching win over the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals.
The Aces, coached by former Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, won the series 3-1 and became the first WNBA team to win back-to-back titles in 21 years.
Popovich was asked about Hammon’s feat at the postgame presser following the Spurs’ preseason victory. Coach Pop admitted he was “close” to getting himself ejected from the game to catch the latter portion of Aces-Liberty Game 4.
“I thought about getting booted tonight because (Game 4 in New York) was exactly the same time (as the Spurs game), but I just thought this has to be my priority,” Popovich said, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “It was close. Congrats, Becky. Yeah, baby. Good stuff.”
Popovich reportedly began his news conference appearance by informing media members that he was “in a hurry” so that he could celebrate the Aces’ win. Popovich also made a memorable appearance in the Aces’ locker room during last year’s WNBA Finals (video here).
Hammon spent eight seasons on Popovich’s coaching staff. She left for the Aces job following the 2021-22 NBA season. Hammon was linked to a potential NBA head-coaching role this offseason before it went to another first-year head coach.
Hammon played for the San Antonio Stars during the final eight seasons of her WNBA career. She immediately joined Popovich’s staff months after her retirement. The Stars franchise relocated to Las Vegas and became the Aces in 2018.
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