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One of the parlor games to develop in the NBA over recent years has been attempting to guess when San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich would finally retire from prowling the sideline. Since taking charge of the team in 1996, Popovich has presided over five championship runs with the storied franchise and earned the record for the single longest tenure by a coach in all four major American sports.
With the Spurs no longer in contention for the NBA Finals and likely on the precipice of a full rebuild, it's no surprise that many have wondered if Pop would retire to his vineyard rather than spend multiple seasons stuck in the doldrums of the league's standings.
Listening to his comments Friday night, however, it doesn't sound like the Spurs Hall of Fame coach is any less passionate about the game, via RJ Marquez:
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“Watching a new generation of players that are 19, 20, 21, 22-years old, is both a challenge and extremely satisfying to watch them develop,” said Popovich in his postgame news conference. “Not just their basketball skills, but their awareness on the court, what’s going on in their world, what’s going on off the court.”
Given the team's success during Popovich's tenure, it's easy to forget that the coach planned initially on his spending his life at an obscure Division III college program, focused on developing young players. While his career wound up taking a slightly different path, it should come as no surprise that Popovich still carries the same passion for helping young people grow that lead him to the coaching ranks in the first place.
Though the lack of success with the Spurs might be grating, especially when compared to earlier seasons in his career, it doesn't sound like Gregg Popovich is ready to retire any time soon.
