NBA history was made that night.
Gregg Popovich (73) won his 1,336th game in the NBA with his San Antonio Spurs – making him the record holder for most wins by a head coach.
He overtakes the 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.
During the night, his Spurs fought back with a comeback in the last quarter (104:102), giving 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.”
In his time, Popovich formed players like Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker into world stars.
