Gregg Popovich made history Friday night as he became the all-time wins record holder among NBA coaches.
The Spurs earned a 104-102 comeback victory vs the Utah Jazz for Popovich to achieve a huge milestone. Pop earned the 1,336th win in his illustrious NBA career.
Over the course of 26 seasons and more than 2,000 regular season games leading to five NBA championships, a total of 191 players contributed to Popovich reaching this latest milestone.
The winningest coach in the history of the NBA surpassed his mentor Donnie Nelson, who sent a heartfelt message to the Spurs’ head coach.
From: Don Nelson
To: Gregg Popovich pic.twitter.com/Cq1jRzjklb— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 12, 2022
Popovich had joined Larry Brown’s staff as an unpaid assistant after taking an academic sabbatical from Division III Pomona-Pitzer.
He studied in North Carolina and NCAA legend Dean Smith. The legendary coach finished his assignment in Kansas alongside Alvin Gentry, RC Buford and Ed Manning.
All four joined Larry Brown when he was hired from the San Antonio Spurs in 1988. He coached alongside Don Nelson for two seasons between 1992 and 1994, before his return to San Antonio as a head coach 1996.
As his predecessors in the NBA coaching scene, Pop’s reach extends deep in today’s NBA league. He played against Quin Snyder, who was coaching Austin Spurs for three seasons between 2007-2010.
At least 10 current head coaches have ties to Popovich or the Spurs organization. The last season’s NBA finalists Mike Budenholzer and Monty Williams worked with him for many years.
“That’s just really cool, man, for him to be the all-time winningest coach and a blessing for me to have played for him.” 👏
🗣️ Monty Williams on Gregg Popovich pic.twitter.com/HgQLy6T2xb
— x – Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 12, 2022
Those active include Boston’s Ime Udoka, Charlotte’s James Borrego, Denver’s Michael Malone, Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins and Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's statement regarding San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich pic.twitter.com/4eZuVOHSlw
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 12, 2022
In the list of the 15 greatest coaches in the history of the NBA, Popovich is joined by four former co-workers in some capacity – Larry Brown, Kerr, Rivers, and Don Nelson.
In the 26th season of his NBA career, Popovich has been a great influence for the league. After five championships, three Coaches of the Year awards and one Olympic gold medal, the veteran head coach remains hungry, hoping to lead a young Spurs team to the play-in tournament.
As of now, with a little over 10 games remaining for the end of the regular season, the Spurs sit 11th (26-40) one game behind the last play-in spot occupied by the New Orleans Pelicans (27-40).
After achieving the great milestone, Popovich shared his success with the city of San Antonio, the Spurs and the coaches and players he worked with.
“It’s not mine. It’s ours.”
“Something like this does not belong to one individual. Basketball’s a team sport. You preach to your players that they have to do it together and that’s certainly been the case in my life with all the wonderful players and coaches, the staff that I’ve been blessed with, the support of this wonderful city. The fans support us no matter what.”
"It's not mine. It's ours."
Gregg Popovich on why he shares the all-time coaching wins record with the @spurs, and with the city of San Antonio. pic.twitter.com/QwRrhTkjGE
— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2022
The all-time winningest coach in NBA history.
Congrats on No. 1336, Coach Pop! pic.twitter.com/RbuZxrkEWp
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 12, 2022
