The Legendary Legacy of Gregg Popovich: A Coach that Defies Time

The Spurs are what they are, to San Antonio and to the world, thanks to Gregg Popovich. His immeasurable figure is an inherent part of NBA history, which cannot be understood without him. Established on his own merits and objective data as one of the best coaches in history, the coach has signed a five-season extension with his team of a lifetime. One more example that he will retire when he wants and at the time he wants, with the promise that he will receive the corresponding 80 million even if he decides to retire earlier. A character that does not end, that does not leave him, that does not retire. That he has seen an endless string of players pass before his eyes who, one after another, have been saying goodbye to basketball while he, unperturbed, continues to stand. No one can knock you down. And he can’t see his final, no matter how much the date is in those five seasons ahead. It is a good limit, since we can continue enjoying his person for a long time.

No franchise has been better than the Spurs since Popovich decided to fire Bob Hill and trade offices for benches in 1996-97. David Robinson’s injuries allowed the coach to get carried away and the poor record the Texans had then led to Tim Duncan. And that’s where the magic came from. Tanking or not, an eternal debate that will never be resolved, Popovich has always said that it all started there. “What I did was select Duncan. The rest came out alone, ”he would say years later. Anyone would say that everything is as easy as that. With the legendary power forward, one of the best players ever, Popovich won five rings in six finals. And he continued to reach the playoffs in his retirement, in 2016. In total, 22 consecutive seasons in the final phase, the same as the Nationals / 76ers between 1950 and 1971. They could not be the first team with 23 consecutive trips to the playoffs, they did not there were more miracles in the pockets of a legendary team. But what else does it matter. It remains for posterity.

In that stretch, the Spurs not only won five championships, they also had more victories than anyone else in the playoffs (170) and in the regular season (1,228). Popovich only took a few more years, already with constant negative records, to be the coach with the most games won ever, surpassing Don Nelson: 1,367. And with more than 64% of victories, something that he only leaves behind Phil Jackson (70%). In the playoffs, which he has not played since 2019, he is one behind Pat Riley (171), while the Zen Master seems unreachable in that category (226). It was precisely Jackson who defined in his clandestinity, before signing for the Lakers, the Spurs title in 1999 as “the asterisk ring.” There were only 50 games and All Star was not played. Popovich never forgave him for his words and with him he had great battles in the playoffs. Both coaches met in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008. The Spurs only won the 2003 series, in the second ring of the dynasty. A small notch that does not dwarf the greatness of a legendary being.

Nor does the fact of sitting Duncan down and allowing an offensive rebound from Chris Bosh so that Ray Allen’s historic triple left the Spurs without a ring, the fifth, which they made effective a year later, also against the Heat and in a true ode to basketball. The last few years, without the skull trio, the one that Duncan formed with Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili, has consisted of negative records that pointed to the coach’s retirement. Especially when Duncan himself and Becky Hammon were running as his replacement. The first was there for a season and left. The second, tired of waiting for an opportunity that did not come (the little things that the NBA still lacks), signed for the WNBA Aces, signed the highest contract in the history of the competition and conquered the ring in his first year . Meanwhile, there is still Popovich, who does not leave. His renewal removes the echoes of a withdrawal that is still postponed. And the arrival of Victor Wembanyama gives a new perspective to the situation.

The new Duncan?

The arrival of the Frenchman, called to be a generational player, can start the cycle again. The one that Popovich himself got with the number 1 of the 1997 draft, the first until this year in the history of the Spurs. It is impossible to venture out to discover what will happen and there are few chances of history repeating itself. Actually, there aren’t, since five rings in six Finals is something only within the reach of the greatest. From that always short lineage of titans to which Tim Duncan belongs. From that small group of stars who have written some of the most incredible pages of the NBA in its long history.

We’ll see if Wembanyama enters there, who has all eyes on him. It will be his job and that of his environment that has to take care that all the pressure that he is going to manage, endure. Put up with. A similar projection has not been seen since LeBron James arrived in the NBA, 20 years ago. The King met expectations and his crown will be perpetual, he will always be at his head. But history has not always been like this, and we have also seen a string, more or less striking, of unfulfilled promises. Ben Simmons comes just as quickly to mind as Zion Williamson, the latest notable example. And so we could continue, forever, until the end of time. We’ll see what happens with Wembanyama: after all, it’s easier to belong to any group other than LeBron’s. Which is made up of one person: himself.

Now it’s time to play. We have seen interesting things from the French in the Summer League, but also nervousness. His physique is spectacular, but he also worries about the injuries he may suffer, as we saw a year ago in the case of Chet Holmgren. In 2022, Wembanyama suffered from psoas and his physical care will be a constant that will determine his continuity and his future. If he is healthy, we already know him: intimidation and rebounding, excellent handling for his 2.26m height and conditions to shoot from three and from basically any side of the track. He deals damage inside and out, can penetrate, and has more height and wingspan than any opponent. A machine.

The moment has come. The player with the most projection in recent years joins a heavenly being, the best active coach in the NBA. A young man who surrenders to his beginnings and a man who refuses to glimpse the end. And a cycle that, 26 years later, is repeated with a new number 1 in the draft that promises to conquer an NBA that waits for no one. It only remains to be seen if the story is the same. If you can repeat everything again. If this is the rebirth of the Spurs and Popovich’s penultimate bullet or if it is all a mere mirage and everything will end in limbo. The wait will be long, but we will soon begin to see to what extent Wembanyama can be what many think it will be. The one that is, without a doubt, is Gregg Popovich. That he has already secured a place in the firmament. An aura full of greatness.

2023-07-14 10:04:46
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