Sometime this week, Gregg Popovich will almost certainly become the ninth coach with 1,000 career regular-season wins.
To state the obvious, over the course of two decades he has established himself as one of the NBA’s greatest basketball coaches. A Sir Alex Ferguson of the NBA, if you will. But it has been more than just the wins and honours that set him apart.
If Popovich ever comes across like the smartest guy in the room, it’s because he probably is.
Not to deny the tactical or competitive genius of contemporaries such as Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, but Popovich has had it all.
“When you talk about legacy, how he has adapted and adjusted and been at the forefront of changes in the game has to be a big part of it,” Mike Budenholzer, coach of the Atlanta Hawks and formerly a Popovich assistant, told the San Antonio Express-News. “He is an innovator in understanding how you have success on both ends of the court.”
He and the Spurs GM, RC Buford, were at the forefront of turning statistical analysis into on-court performance.
He hired the first woman to be an assistant coach in the NBA, Becky Hammon.
He figured out how to extend careers in pioneering the practice of sitting healthy older players.
Popovich has all the accolades to count among the greatest, but it has been his willingness to experiment, to be bold, to be an “innovator”, that has truly cemented his legacy.
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