With respect to John Kundla and Steve Kerr, there is little debate that Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich take up the four spots on the Mount Rushmore of NBA coaches. Though Kundla won five championships with the Minneapolis Lakers and Kerr's already captured four with no indication he's leaving the bench anytime soon, the mountain top is set for now.

And atop it? Not Red. Not Phil. Not Riles.

It's Pop.

To start, he has more wins than any other coach in NBA history, with 1,582. Riley is the only other of the four to rank in the top five. And he's more than 200 wins behind Pop, who coached only five games in his final season.

Popovich advanced to the NBA Playoffs a record-tying 22-straight seasons. The team that shares that mark is not the Boston Celtics, nor the Chicago Bulls, nor the Los Angeles Lakers, nor the New York Knicks, nor the Miami Heat. It's a franchise that spanned two cities and six coaches during their record stretch: the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers.

But what truly sets Pop apart from his fellow greats is what he did with what he had comparatively.

How Gregg Popovich outduels Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich watches play against the Utah Jazz during the fourth quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Auerbach, Jackson and Riley routinely had two of the game's 10 best players on each of their teams. All of them had a guy who ranks in the top five (or just on the outer edge) all-time.

Red had Bill Russell and Bob Cousy, with John Havlicek as a bridge. Several more of those 1950's and '60's Celtics are in the Hall of Fame.

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Riley had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy before winning a title in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.

Jackson has Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman before taking over a Lakers squad with Shaq and Kobe Bryant. He'd later win two more titles with Bryant.

Popovich had Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard.

While each of the four coaches managed their share of the game's greats, a closer look reveals what sets Pop apart. Almost all of the aforementioned players are among the Top 75 according to the NBA. Except for two: Ginobili and Parker.

Auerbach had Cousy, Russell and Havlicek for virtually their entire careers. Riley had Magic and Worthy during their primes and a still dominant Jabbar. Same for Jackson with Jordan, Pippen and Rodman. Riley's fifth title came when Wade was coming into his own with O'Neal and Hall-of-Famers Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton in support. Jackson's first foray in Los Angeles gave him Shaq and Kobe together in their primes.

Pop won titles with a post-back surgery Robinson and Leonard in just his third season. He also won one with a rookie Ginobili and second-year guard Parker. In other words, Gregg Popovich had neither “Big Dave” nor “The Klaw” in their primes and managed to win when two of his future Hall-of-Famers were finding their way.

Jackson's 11 NBA championships are tops. Auerbach set the tone for the modern game. Including his reaching the Finals with the Knicks, Riley won big at most places.

None, though, can boast what Popovich can. His teams didn't overwhelm with talent. At least not compared to the rest of the NBA's Mount Rushmore of coaches.