Gregg Popovich made a guarantee in jest that the San Antonio Spurs would be able to hold Luka Doncic below 50 points. The Dallas Mavericks star wasn't playing around after that, dropping 51 on Coach Pop's boys.
After the game in which the Mavs beat the Spurs by a single point, Popovich hilariously had to face the music in a room full of mostly the same reporters he spoke to just days earlier.
“Oh I said that, didn't I?” Gregg Popovich said chuckling after being asked about his promise gone awry.
Coach Pop clearly made the 50-point joke just as a ridiculous benchmark for the high standard Doncic has set for himself. You just don't expect a guy to score 50 just after scoring 60 a few nights prior. But Luka doesn't live by the normal set of rules.
“He’s just a beautiful basketball player,” Popovich said of the Mavs frontman. “He’s like the prototype for high basketball IQ and high skill level, all rolled into one guy. He’s very special, very special.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic: "He’s just a beautiful basketball player. He’s like the prototype for high basketball IQ and high skill level, all rolled into one guy. He’s very special, very special.” pic.twitter.com/sbLNnKkkeI
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 31, 2022
Gregg Popovich knows great talent when he sees it. Given his Spurs operate in the same division as Doncic's Mavs, he's had an up close and personal look at the growth from his rookie season to now inarguably as a top five player in the league.
Let Coach Pop's dalliance with Luka Doncic serve as a cautionary tale for anyone trying to set limits on the Mavs star. He can and will break them if he needs to in order to seal a win.
"Yeah, I saw it. I just wanted to get a win."
Reporter: "But the 50 is nice, right?"
"Of course, it's not bad."
Luka Doncic on Gregg Popovich's comment on holding him under 50 points 😅pic.twitter.com/h51DqeXF4b
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 1, 2023
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