San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is the new NBA record holder for most wins by a head coach. (Image: dpa)
(Photo: Eric Gay/AP/dpa)
San Antonio – Basketball coach Gregg Popovich has cemented his place in NBA history as the record holder for most wins by a head coach.
Players and officials congratulated the 73-year-old on his 1,336th win, overtaking previous record holder Don Nelson. Nelson called the San Antonio Spurs coach ESPN’s “greatest coach,” adding, “When I hired him as an assistant coach, I thought he could learn something from me. But I learned more from him than he learned from me, that’s for sure.”
Popovich took over at the Spurs in 1996 and won the championship in the world’s top basketball league with the Texans in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. On Friday (local time) his Spurs clinched the success with a 104:102 against the Utah Jazz, which gives Popovich the sole record. “Gregg Popovich’s success with Spurs is unprecedented in our league. So it’s only fitting that he now holds the record for most career wins,” NBA boss Adam Silver said in a statement.
The modest Popovich was rather uncomfortable with the hype surrounding his person. “We all have a part in this record. It’s not mine, it’s ours, here in this city,” said the successful coach. “It doesn’t belong to one person. Basketball is a team sport.” Popovich molded players like Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker during his time.
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