Other People: Matt Moore on Pop

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Over at Fanhouse, my good friend and colleague Matt Moore has written a mammoth piece on Gregg Popovich and the Spurs’ championship aspirations this upcoming season:

A little over a week ago, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told NBA.com this nugget in the brutally honest way only he can.

“If we don’t win it, I should probably be fired, (w)ithout a doubt.”

Popovich is no stranger to dagger quips that do a pirouette on the line of funny and brutally honest. I mean, the guy hacked-the-Shaq seconds into a nationally televised game just to spite the big guy, then gave him a cheesy grin and two thumbs up. He often talks about how the Spurs’ success has hinged almost entirely upon drafting Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He rarely if ever gives interviews and declines all speaking engagements.

In short, he’s an enigma wrapped inside a puzzle disguised as a winemaker.

Popovich may be keen on whimsy, but behind his statement, there’s a clear message that has been sent to this team and the league. The Spurs aren’t just planning to contend for a championship this season, they’re expecting to win the championship this season. Not “we feel good about our chances” but “we damn well better win.”

Clocking in at just over 2,000 words, this is an afternoon’s worth of procrastinatory reading. But trust me: every word is worth it.

  • 092021

    GET YA POPCORN READY!!!!

  • zack

    Sounds like hes setting the mind set for the team to follow

  • Rick

    Very well-written article by Mr. Moore. He does a great job of capturing Pop’s personality and dragging it out (kicking & screaming) to display for the world.

  • Ultimate Spurs Fan
  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Graydon Gordian

    I forgot to include the link in my initial post. Sorry about that. I added it above.

  • NL

    It’ll be a sad day when he goes. He’s so humble and appreciative of the opportunity he’s been given and he’s such a remarkable coach. The good news, however, is that he’s put in place a system that will hopefully stay after he retires.

  • Jordan

    This more than anything is the reason I want to get a league pass this year. Pop has been a part of the Spurs right around the time I became a fan of them, I hope he sticks around longer, not because he has the need to, but because he likes it. It will be weird to have any other coach on the sidelines during a Spurs game.

  • SpursfanSteve

    “dont poke the zombie”.

    hahahaha. great article, thanks for sharing it guys. I love Pop. They should give him a jersey number, then retire it. Hes been about as big a part of our success as Admiral and Timmy (who wanted the nickname Merlin when he got in the league. is it too late in his career for that to stick?)

  • idahospur

    A great coach who has only brought quality players to the Spurs who put team and appearance first.

  • GMT

    Another article about Pop on spurs.com

    http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/coach_50_best.html

  • GMT

    I should say it’s not exactly about Pop. It’s a list of the 50 greatest coaches of all time, and he’s one of them.

  • Bushka

    Great article. Really love Matt Moore’s work. He is also pretty funny, was hilarious watching the live draft chat as the thunder chose Thabeet.

  • SpurredOn

    Knowing that our franchise is in hands, to say nothing of each game, has given me great confidence and the belief that nine times out of ten, the right thing has been done. No matter how great you are at team sports you never win every game or every championship so the way you go about it is just as remembered as the winning percentage. I know he’s stubborn and allergic to change but I can’t argue with his philosophy or results. That his public personality is prickly just adds to the unique character he and the team are.

  • Robby

    Greg Popovich, is really one of the greatest coaches of all time one could argue that he is even better than P. Jackson (despite having 10 rings, 6 with the Bulls and 4 with L.A.)… he won these rings with players named MJ & Pippen/ Shaq & Kobe not to mention the other all star caliber players that surrounded them.

    Coach Pop is a no-nonsense guy that values defense, leadership, character, chemistry and team first approach that is why he is so successful.

    The way the spurs won those championships in ’99, ’03, ’05 and ’07, the did it by playing the right way and lock down D.

  • BB

    If the wrong way wins championships, it’s the right way. Pop is a great coach, and much like Phil Jackson, an excellent counterpart to his star players. It must have sucked hard for TP when Pop doubted his potential and they went after Jason Kidd, but I’m pretty sure that experience made Tony the tough, aggressive PG he is today. If he did nothing else but raise Tony’s game to an All-Star level, Pop’s a good coach. That said, the front office deserves a lot of credit for helping Pop get the players he needed for all those championships.

  • Robby

    There is no wrong way when you win championships… from a comparison stand point, P. Jackson have MORE accomplished All Star Players on a team when he wins those rings…

    While in Pop’s case, he only have ONE true All Star (Tim Duncan) when he won his first ring in ’99 at this point the admiral is past his prime, Manu is still a rookie and their starting PG is Avery Johnson. Manu and Tony DEVELOPED as an all star players during the Duncan era on their in winning rings in ’03, ’05 and ’07.

    all i’m saying is, Coach Pop won championships with “lesser” talent as compared to what P.Jackson had….

  • Robby

    Just to add to on how great Poppovich has… remember that the spurs haven’t miss a playoffs for the past 12 years and won atleast 50 season games during that span… and for the past decade spurs are always title contenders year in and year out… you can’t say that to another NBA team can you?

  • BB

    Yeah, his record is nuts – he only missed the playoffs once, when we bombed to get Tim Duncan.

    I also wonder how it affects the chemistry to know your coach almost certainly won’t be fired at the end of the season. For the sake of comparison, in the past 10 years the Pistons have fired Rick Carlisle (2 50-win seasons), Larry Brown (1 championship, 2 Finals appearances), and Flip Saunders (2x Conference Finals, 60+ win season). We have an excellent combination of personnel, coaching staff, and management, and I don’t think you could take any one part away and expect results anywhere near as good as we’ve had.

    None of this is to belittle Popovich’s career, mind. I just think we’re really lucky to have all the moving parts working together so well. I’d argue that he’s as important a piece as Tim Duncan in making it all happen.

  • idahospur

    It’s amazing to look at that Spurs are #4 with total NBA Championships after Celtics, Lakers, and Bulls. Pop has also been involved in training other important coaching figures in other teams (Mike Brown for one). Pop has also mastered finding talent in places that no other team looks. To be able to accomplish this much in a “smaller venue” shows how talented he truly is.

  • Will

    Re: the Phil Jackson I think we (Spurs fan) should stop saying Pop won with spare sparts – ok PJ had Jordan (obviously that helps), Kobe/Shaq and generally speaking teams loaded with talent. But Pop had Duncan (best PF of all time anybody?), D-Rob (MVP, All-time 50 best), Parker, Ginobili… that’s 2 HOFers and 2 others that might very well end up there too (for Parker it’s borderline and a bit early to say, for Ginobili probably a lock due to his international contributions – remember it’s the basketball HOF, not the NBA HOF). Add to that guys like Horry, Finley… etc. Tons of quality role-players and former All-Stars.

    The Spurs are NOT depleted of talent, far from it (and this year’s team shows it again).

    What’s amazing is how this talent has been acquired, no blockbuster trade, no freebies like Gasol and so on.

    For me where Pop and the FO have made a huge difference is to bring a small-market franchise into the spotlight, at a time where everybody thought it was impossible.

  • gospurs44

    Robinson past his prime in ’99? 15.8 pts & 10 reb.

  • JohnnyF

    gospurs44:

    Before Robinson got hurt in ’96-’97, he was a solid 25 and 12 (not to mention the 3.5 bl, 3 ast, 1.5 stl). So yeah, I’d say 15.8 and 10 puts him pretty well past his prime.

  • Sean

    Robinson prime was 24 pts & 12 reb + 3 blocks

  • Juan

    Robinson’s stats:

    http://www.nba.com/playerfile/david_robinson/

    He averaged 29.8ppg on 93-94! I would say 15ppg is well below his peak.

  • gospurs44

    he could have been a 20+ pt per game guy but that’s the year he deferred to duncan. still all-star numbers. would pop still be here if the spurs wouldn’t have won the duncan lottery?

  • Area Man

    Will Pop walk away from the bench, when Duncan finally hangs it up? He’s gone on record as saying he will. But like Matt Moore indicated in his article, the man is prone to whimsical statements. My gut says it will happen, but who knows? *shrug*

    If Pop does leave, however, who would he hand the reins of the team over to? Don Newman? Mike Budenholzer? Quin Snyder? [Insert-Name-Here]?

  • Bentley

    For one thing it does make me happy to see so many Spurs fans, the whole season i heard of how the Spurs didn’t have it anymore, and it almost seemed to me like the city had given up.

    And it’s also amazing the consistency we’ve had. Being mentioned as contenders for over the past decade, and had it not been for .4 and Dirk Nowitzki’s shot in Game 7 of the 2006 playoffs and other things we might have had 6 or 7 championships. Pop has stayed rock solid, while all the other NBA Elite:Celtics, Lakers, Mavs, Magic, Pistons etc. have gone through numerous coaching changes and player changes

    Go Spurs Go. Seriously

  • Robby

    Agree with Bentley, we might have won 6 rings already if ” had it not been for .4 and Dirk Nowitzki’s lucky shot in Game 7 of the 2006 playoffs” … and BB “I just think we’re really lucky to have all the moving parts working together so well. I’d argue that he’s as important a piece as Tim Duncan in making it all happen.” thats how important Pop is in this organization…. a little luck maybe involved but i think people that knows Spurs culture are really class acts, intelligent and with high character that makes them a model of consistency and excellence for the past decade…

  • Robby

    Will, nobody here is saying that “Pop won with spare sparts” as compared to the last champions they are assembled in a manner to get most ALLSTARS to win (see boston and lakers) while in contary, the Spurs did it by having TD and having a little luck with the draft, (Manu and Tony)… but at the time specialy in ’99 how knows Manu will the be Manu of ’05? in ’03 the Spurs actually think
    Tony might not be their PG of the future and yet they won… that to me is more impressive than assembling a team of proven allstars in the past just to win a title… and Pop has a close relationship with his players, he treats them with respect (specially Duncan). So having been said that, i think that seperates Pop to alot of NBA coaches… and did i mention he rarely complains about officiating…. as for PJ’s case he always blasts the referees if they loss and playoff game… (maybe one of his mind games), Pop is such a class in this regard… Go Spurs Go!