Anyone even remotely paying attention to professional basketball over the past three decades knew that it was merely a matter of when, not if, legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was going to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The foregone conclusion became official on Saturday, when Popovich was announced as a 2023 Hall of Fame inductee.
Popovich’s accolades are too numerous to list, but the highlights include the most coaching wins in NBA history, five championships and an Olympic gold medal. He could have easily been inducted years ago, but he reportedly did not want that to happen until he was done coaching. With retirement potentially on the horizon, the committee decided to bestow the honor upon him this year.
“There are so many people out there like me, whose lives have been impacted so dramatically and so positively by Pop,” said Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, a friend, mentee and former player of Popovich. “You can take all the accomplishments and the championships and the wins and everything else, and that’s all meaningful, but it doesn’t come close to the meaning of his relationships that he’s built around the league and what he’s meant to so many of us.”
Popovich has gotten looser and more generous with the media over the past couple of seasons as the Spurs rebuild, eschewing his trademark curtness for elaboration and reflection. On the night before the Hall of Fame announcement, prior to Friday night’s 130-115 loss to the Warriors in San Francisco, Popovich doled out some wisdom about basketball and life.
On coaching
“Understanding the common denominator. Getting rid of all the chaff that doesn’t mean anything, all the noise, and figuring out what is the problem. What is the solution? Let’s do that. We don’t have to overthink it. We don’t have to do anything for image sake. Just figure out what you need to fix or establish. Get at it, and then go to dinner. Have a glass. See your family.”
On adapting to a changing game
“I think in the NBA, with the way the…
..
