Boston Celtics rising stars Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart seem to be enjoying their stint with Team USA and head coach Gregg Popovich.
Both are finalists for the USA Basketball FIBA World Cup roster. However, whether or not they make it to the 12-man lineup, Brown and Smart are already grateful because they had the chance to be coached by one of the NBA's greatest minds in Coach Pop.
Per NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg, Brown and Smart had high praises for Popovich. Brown said that if he'll be given the chance to pick someone he can learn from, he'd always go for the five-time champion coach.
“They all have their own style and coaching traits. It’s like different teachers have different ways of explaining and teaching. But playing for Gregg Popovich, I’ll do that any day of the week,” Brown shared.
Smart, meanwhile, is just ecstatic that he's able to get another opportunity to play for Popovich.
“It’s amazing. I was lucky enough to play for [Popovich] on the Select Team two years ago and you see a different side of Pop than [during the NBA season],” Smart explained. “He jokes a lot and he’s a great guy. And he’s just a guy that you want working.”
Almost everyone playing for Team USA right now has witnessed how good Popovich is as a coach. He is already in the conversation for the Greatest Coach of All-Time, and he's a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Only a few basketball players in the world are given the chance to be under the tutelage of someone with that kind of coaching resume. Brown and Smart are two of them.
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