“Coach Pop” formte Superstars
1336 NBA victories: Popovich breaks the all-time record
03/12/2022, 7:50 p.m
Coach legend Gregg Popovich achieves another milestone in the North American professional basketball league NBA. “Coach Pop” earned his 1,336th win in a regular season game as his San Antonio Spurs narrowly defeated the Utah Jazz.
Basketball coach Gregg Popovich has cemented his place in NBA history as the record-holder for most regular-season 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 my assistant, I thought he could learn something from me. But I learned more from him than he did 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. The modest Popovich was rather uncomfortable with the hype surrounding his person. “We all have a share in this record. It’s not mine, it’s ours here in this city,” said the successful coach. “It doesn’t belong to an individual. Basketball is a team sport.” Popovich formed players like Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker during his time.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver paid tribute to the national coach who led the USA to gold at last year’s Tokyo Olympics: “His leadership and unwavering dedication to the game are admired by generations of players and coaches. Congratulations to Coach Pop for the latest achievement in his legendary career.”
