Gregg Popovich has equaled Don Nelson’s NBA record for victories by a head coach: Spurs coach “Pop” celebrates his 1335th success against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“You know pop. I don’t think he cares about such things – it wasn’t even really mentioned,” said Jakob Pöltl about the 117:110 home win of the San Antonio Spurs over the Los Angeles Lakers. A very special victory for the Spurs, even if Gregg Popovich doesn’t want to take himself too seriously.
Especially since that win marked Gregg Popovich’s 1,335th win of his NBA career, equaling Don Nelson’s record. Only regular season games are taken into account. While Nelson needed 2,398 games to set the record, Popovich reached the milestone in his 2,080th game.
Also in the front row was David Robinson, a longtime player of Popovich’s who had already played for the Texans when Popovich began his career as head coach at San Antonio in 1996. Against the Lakers, Popovich allowed himself a joke and called on the 56-year-old Robinson as a sub.
In the here and now, Spurs are trying to make it into the play-in tournament. The win over the Lakers ended the Texans’ streak of four losses in a row, but with a 25-40 record, 12th-placed San Antonio is two and a half games away from finishing tenth. “He spurred us on to play a little more aggressively,” said Pöltl in preparation for the Lakers game. “During the shootaround, he pushed the guys around, which ended up in a huddle/mosh pit-like situation.”
The game against the Lakers was the start of a series of seven home games for the Spurs. The possibility of getting closer to the playoff spots? Next up are the Toronto Raptors in Texas, then Popovich can become the sole record holder. Will the coaching legend then be interested? “I doubt that will be mentioned in our next win. That’s just how he is.”
