In an attempt to keep up with the ever growing competition in the Western Conference, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is dipping into the archives by utilizing plays from eight years ago, as revealed by The Athletics’ Ethan Strauss when speaking with several Western Conference scouts.
“That’s not so much the case with Popovich, whose play-calling archives are on a Library of Alexandria level. ‘Pop might call a play and I’ll go through my notes and see that the last time he called it was eight years ago,’ says a West scout. ‘But it will be the same term, same hand signal, same play.”
It’s safe to say Popovich has seen it on a basketball court, as the 69-year-old has been the main man in charge of the Spurs for a staggering 22 years. Popovich has coached in a transitional period for the league in terms of playing style and has successfully adapted each time the game has evolved in certain aspects.
In order to be successful and win titles, Popovich has developed an elaborate library of play calling, something the scout claimed would contain thousands of plays and strategies.
“The notoriously clandestine Popovich would likely never reveal its contents, but his playbook must contain thousands of well-archived designs, accumulated through over two decades of Spurs stewardship.”
Popovich and his coaching staff may need all the help they can get this upcoming campaign, as they lost franchise superstar Kawhi Leonard in a trade with the Toronto Raptors. With legendary guard Manu Ginobili also announcing his retirement from the organization, the Spurs may be facing their biggest challenge yet when the season tips off in October, with new faces and little chemistry.
Gregg Popovich will enter the new regular season without the services of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili for the first time in 22 years, and is hoping new recruit DeMar DeRozan and big man LaMarcus Aldridge can carry the franchise forward in their absence.
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