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Gregg Popovich has been deservingly named to the NBA 15 Greatest Coaches of all time on Tuesday, but for the San Antonio Spurs tactician, it's both “embarrassing” and “bizarre.”
As Popovich noted, he never imagined he would become one of the very best in his job as an NBA head coach–and some can even argue that he could very well be considered the best in the business. He said he is “humbled to his knee” with the recognition, adding that he's been really “blessed” to have worked with several excellent people throughout his coaching career.
“It’s sort of bizarre. It’s not something you grew up in the game (thinking), ‘Some day I’m going to do this.' I’ve been blessed with lots of great coaches and players and staff. And I have been doing it for a long time, so somebody felt it appropriate to put me in that list. It’s a bit embarrassing, a little bit mind-boggling…and you just don’t want to pay any attention to it,” Popovich said of the honor, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
Aside from Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr are among the active coaches included in the list. They are joined by Red Auerbach, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, KC Jones, Don Nelson, Jack Ramsay, Jerry Sloan and Lenny Wilkens.
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Coach Pop admitted that there are a lot more coaches who deserve to be in the list, but it's definitely a great honor for him to be chosen.
“It’s kind of like the multiple choice test on the SAT, and you say which one doesn’t belong,” the Spurs coach added. “You feel like you might be one of those guys. It’s certainly an honor to be in that group. Still, sort of an out-out-of-body experience.”
Popovich's selection is really a no-brainer. He is up there as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, and championship wins aside, he has the numbers to back it up. Just recently, he became the only head coach in NBA history to accumulate 1500 wins in both the regular season and playoffs–which speaks volumes on his success in establishing a dynasty in San Antonio.
The Spurs icon established a winning culture in San Antonio, and his DNA has spread throughout the NBA, as several coaches in the NBA has come from the Popovich coaching tree.
It won't be long before Pop becomes the winningest head coach in NBA history in the regular season alone, so the honor is only fitting.
