LeBron James' Emotional Admission on Gregg Popovich's Retirement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 9, 2025 2:17 PM ET

On the latest episode of "Mind the Game" with Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James opened up about Gregg Popovich's retirement.

Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history, will no longer coach the San Antonio Spurs. The Hall of Famer will remain with the Spurs as team president.

James has a strong rapport with Popovich. The two legends faced each other in the NBA Finals three times. Popovich also coached James in the 2004 Olympics.

“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," James said. "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 (expletive) guy that guy is. And it makes sense with how unbelievable of a coach he was because of the person he was.”

Popovich was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year. He's a three-time NBA Coach of the Year (2002-03, 2011-12, 2013-14) and led Team USA to a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

Popovich coached the Spurs to titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. He suffered a stroke in November.

"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," James said. "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.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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