After winning Game 5 which put them up 3-2 in their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets Head coach Michael Malone said that Gregg Popovich not being in the Hall of Fame is a ‘damn shame.'
Per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post, Malone said in the post-game conference:
“Why is Gregg Popovich not in the Hall of Fame? You have some of these college coaches who put up big money to help them get in. Gregg Popovich not being in the Hall of Fame is a damn shame.”
Nuggets' Michael Malone spitting fire after Game 5 win over Spurs: "Why is Gregg Popovich not in the Hall of Fame? You have some of these college coaches who put up big money to help them get in. Gregg Popovich not being in the Hall of Fame is a damn shame." pic.twitter.com/KwYqN60IIC
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 24, 2019
There are only six active coaches basketball Hall of Fame, all of them are in the college ranks. They include Bill Self, Jim Boeheim, John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Tom Izzo.
Malone's comments are pretty interesting. According to the rules, for a coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he/she must “fully retired for five years” or, if they are still active, “have coached as either a full-time assistant or head coach on the high school and/or college and/or professional level” for 25 years.
Popovich started his NBA coaching career in 1988 as an assistant for the Spurs. Before that, he coached several college teams starting off with the Air Force Academy basketball team in 1973. Given this, Popovich certainly qualifies for the Hall of Fame.
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