Although San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has been at the helm of a team playing shorthanded without star forward Kawhi Leonard for a vast majority of 2017-18, he managed to get the Spurs back into the playoffs for a record 21st straight season.
When Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News asked Popovich about whether he still enjoyed coaching despite dealing with easily one of the most stressful seasons of his career, the longtime coach gave another classic Coach Pop answer.
“Are you serious?” coach Popovich said. “This is the easiest job anybody could have, compared to a lot of things, right? I mean, I get flown out here on a plane, a charter. I didn’t pay for it. It was free. Big. They had food on there, and it was free. I landed and they put me in a Four Seasons hotel. I didn’t pay a penny for that. I went to a game and I had a front-row seat, and I got to watch an NBA playoff game. I didn’t even pay for the tickets.
Popovich continued to rave about all the free perks that his job opens up for him and how he couldn't possibly dislike what he does for a living.
“Afterwards, I hit, I don’t know, three or four restaurants, and had my main meal about 8:30 that night,” Popovich said. “This hotel still let me in and didn’t make me pay. I get up this morning, and there’s breakfast, and it’s free. And now I’m going to go out, and the worst part of the trip is I’m going to have to pay for my lunch. So I don’t know what happened there, but how can you hate that job?”
What does Popovich get the most satisfaction out of coaching from? Developing relationships with his players over time.
“Of course,” Popovich said. “Are you serious? I get to work with these young guys. I get to watch people develop. I get to watch people grow. They have babies, or their wives do. They grow as people. I make more friends for life. It’s pretty cool.”
The Spurs will look to pull off a huge upset tonight over the Golden State Warriors and head back to San Antonio with the series tied 1-1.
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