Win or lose, Gregg Popovich is still considered the greatest coach in NBA history.
His style of play might not be up to date with modern basketball, and it’s been a while since the San Antonio Spurs were competitive, but he’s still one of the savviest basketball minds this game has ever seen.
More than that, coach Pop is known for being a class act off the court as well, and not many of the countless players he’s coached have ever had something bad to say about him.
Notably, that includes those he coached during his tenure with USA Basketball.
That’s why, following the Phoenix Suns’ win over the Spurs, star SG Devin Booker tipped his hat to the veteran coach, revealing that Popovich left him a bottle of wine and that they talked about the great memories and close bond they built during their time together with Team USA (via Duane Rankin).
"We talked after the game. He left me a nice bottle of wine. I know we drank one together after we won gold. We have some incredible memories even though it was a short amount of time in Japan."
Devin Booker on Gregg Popovich.
Coached him to Olympic gold in Tokyo. #Suns #Spurs pic.twitter.com/QvROydTrs2
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 24, 2024
Popovich is one of the most influential figures in basketball history.
Not only did he build and develop one of the strongest winning cultures and identities in all major sports, but he also laid the blueprint for what a winning organization should look like.
He also paved the way and prepared countless coaches and assistant coaches, and his coaching tree goes deep in the NBA.
Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA history, and even though things aren’t going well for the Spurs right now, it should be just a matter of time before he gets them back to their winning ways before riding into the sunset.
NEXT: Kevin Durant Makes His Thoughts Clear About Isaiah Thomas