San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is known for his stoic reactions and no-nonsense attitude on and off the court, but you know, he can pull off hilarious jokes here and there.
Prior to Thursday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Coach Pop was asked about his legendary career and the secret to his success so far, being one of the winningest coaches in the NBA with a chance to own the regular season record for most wins of all time.
Instead of talking about strategies, his strict rules or playing team basketball, Popovich got real and shared that his secret is quite simple: draft Tim Duncan and don't die early.
Pop politely declined to talk about closing in on Don Nelson for the most career regular season NBA coaching wins.
Reporter shifts to asking Pop what his key to success has been.
Pop's reply: "Key to success? Draft Tim Duncan. After that, stay alive."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 19, 2021
Gregg Popovich really got jokes.
All fun aside, though, Pop isn't entirely wrong. After all, he and Duncan achieved a lot together, along with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
With Timmy, the 72-year-old tactician won five NBA championships from 1999 to 2014. It was one of the most successful and dominant eras in basketball, with the Spurs establishing themselves as playoff contenders year in and year out.
Of course after Duncan retired in 2016, the Spurs were never the same again. Popovich still found some success here and there, but it was never the same without TD.
Having one of the best power forwards of all time and longevity certainly helped Popovich attain that level of success he just had with the Spurs, but without a doubt, he also played a huge role in making Duncan the player he was.
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