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Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle would know better than just about anyone else on the planet when it comes to the greatness of longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. As a result, Carlisle made a point to praise his Spurs counterpart on Tuesday en route to calling Popovich the greatest coach in NBA history.
Carlisle on Gregg Popovich: “In my opinion he’s the greatest coach in NBA history.” Cites five titles with different styles, longevity.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) March 12, 2019
However, Popovich stayed very much on brand upon responding to the aforementioned comments…
Told that Carlisle called him the greatest coach in history, Gregg Popovich said “Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. I’m not going to give you that loan.” But also Pop seemed genuinely flattered. Called Carlisle one of the few coaches who understands all aspects of the NBA.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) March 12, 2019
Even though Popovich will never cave into the praise from his peers and colleagues, Carlisle is certainly not the first NBA presence to anoint “Pop” as the greatest coach in league history.
“He’s the greatest coach of all time,” said current Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James back in January 2017, via USA TODAY. “I’ve said that over and over and over. You’ve got to be to do what he’s done in the era of basketball when it’s changed so much and he’s been able to have a growth mindset and be able to change with the game. He’s continued to build around Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and Tony [Parker] and bring pieces in and out throughout his whole tenure.”
Though Popovich won't easily accept praise of this kind, nor has he ever, the longtime Spurs leader has infamously led San Antonio to an impressive five NBA titles over the years — which surely warrants a tremendous amount of praise. Even so, it appears as though Popovich's tenure in San Antonio won't last too much longer, which could have prompted Carlisle's remarks from Tuesday.
