San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is arguably the most esteemed coach in the NBA today. This is exactly why we all value whatever the 73-year-old shot-caller says. Coach Pop's Spurs took on the Miami Heat on Thursday night as he went up against another top coach in the league in Erik Spoelstra.

Popovich had nothing but praise for Spoelstra as he revealed his true feelings on his rival coach:

“Spo is the real deal, just a genuine human being, who works his ass off,” Popovich said, via Ira Winderman of of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Along with Popovich, Spoelstra is also going to go down in history as an all-time great head coach. So far this season, Coach Spo has led the Heat to another strong campaign. Entering Thursday's tilt, Miami was sitting on a 32-20 record for second spot in the Eastern Conference.

It was also Spoelstra who came out on top on Thursday, with the Heat making easy work of Popovich's Spurs, 112-95. Tyler Herro dropped a game-high 24 points off the bench, while Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler scored 18 and 17, respectively. Kyle Lowry finally returned for this one after missing the past few games due to personal reasons. However, the veteran point guard managed just two points, three rebounds, and six assists, while also turning the ball over six times in 25 minutes of play.

Spoelstra and his boys return to action on Saturday when they take on the Hornets in Charlotte.