WATCH: Spurs' Gregg Popovich Inducted Into Hall of Fame
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is officially a Hall-of-Famer, surprising nobody except ... quite possibly Popovich himself.
“I’m not a Hall-of-Fame guy,” Pop modestly said when the announcement was made.
But on Saturday night, that statement was no longer true. Pop was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The 27th-year coach has been on the receiving end of praise continuously during his career, and considering he's coached other Hall-of-Fame players like Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Dominique Wilkins, the praise was deserved.
And whether it was earning the most wins in league history, winning five championships or earning the NBA's Coach of the Year distinction three different times, Coach Pop, as he's been called throughout his tenure, has been legendary in San Antonio.
His recent Hall-of-Fame induction only furthers that narrative, but for Popovich, achieving "legendary" status was never the goal.
“In all honesty, I've always felt like the Hall of Fame is for Red Holzman, Red Auerbach, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson," Popovich said. "I've never felt like I really belonged. ... I'm a Division III guy, not a Hall-of-Fame guy.
"It's just never really registered, and it always was embarrassing to think about."
Both Holzman and Auerbach led their clubs to multiple NBA championships. Both of them won Coach of the Year, and both of them can be found among the list of coaches who tallied a record number of wins.
Pop did all of those things.
He won more titles that Holzman, and more Coach of the Year awards than the pair combined. He also won more games than both of them — and any other professional coach to ever roam the sideline — yet still he never felt like he belonged.
But why was that the case?
"I'm a product of serendipity," Popovich explained. "How much credit should I get for serendipity putting me here?"
Good luck or not, Popovich earned his way to the top of the coaching pyramid, a climb that started long before the Spurs.
The 6-3 coach was a player first, suiting up for the United States Air Force Academy, where his on-court talent earned him a spot on the US Armed Forces team during his period of service, and later his first championship of many to come.
It didn't just stop there, however. Anywhere Popovich touched down, winning seemed to follow.
Whether it was with the Air Force Academy, with the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens — Pop's Division III nod — in Claremont or even during his brief stint with the Kansas Jayhawks in 1987, which saw the team advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, Popovich proved he had a winning mentality.
And when he first joined the Spurs in 1988, he brought that mentality to San Antonio, and saw it succeed in just a few years, beginning with a team keyed by Tim Duncan.
Duncan was selected first overall in the 1997 NBA Draft in the offseason after Popovich's career-worst 17-47 record in San Antonio.
The 22-year-old Duncan came with high expectations, and surpassed them under Pop, as San Antonio had a 39-game turnaround the following season. The Spurs did not go down as huge winners that year, but the next year saw Popovich earn his first NBA title.
From there, the legendary duo of "Timmy and Pop" would go down as one of the greatest pairings of a coach and player in basketball history. Popovich and Duncan won four more titles — and since his retirement in 2016, Popovich has remained at five championships.
But the respect between the two also remains.
"Everybody always talks about who they'd like to eat dinner with," Popovich said emotionally following Duncan's official retirement. "If you had one night ... who would you go with? My dinner would be with Timmy. And it would be because he's the most real, consistent, true person that I've ever met in my life."
Duncan shared Pop's sentiment during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, calling him an "amazing human being" and citing the veteran coach for teaching him about basketball, and that it "[wasn't] just about basketball" throughout the pair's 19 years on the floor together.
Popovich denied his own entry into the Hall of Fame multiple times prior to this year, stating that he had wanted to wait for Duncan to be inducted, which turned into waiting for another Spurs legend, Manu Ginobili, and then superstar point guard Tony Parker.
But in the years of his chosen denial, Popovich's case for inevitable admittance was only strengthened by coaches and players, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams being the latest to praise the league's winningest coach.
“I just know what he’s meant to the game," Williams said after the Suns' 115-95 victory over the Spurs Tuesday. "I know what he’s meant to so many coaches and their families, not just in the NBA, but around the world, because he’s had such a huge impact on so many people.”
Williams played under Popovich for three years, Golden State coach Steve Kerr also played for Popovich during the Spurs' 1999 title run.
"The Hall of Fame was just a formality," Kerr said recently. "Everybody knew he would be there. It was just a matter of when. There are so many people out there, like me, whose lives have been impacted so dramatically and so positively by Pop. ... He's one of the most influential people ever in my life."
Now, Popovich continues to cement his legacy among his current players and fanbase, more than 20 years later.
"Playing for coach Pop is just legendary," Spurs small forward Keldon Johnson said. "I know he wants the best in me. Obviously he sees something in me that I may not even see in myself. But I know that there's always something bigger."
Despite San Antonio's struggles this season, Popovich has made clear that he still finds joy in his coaching, and the Spurs' young players have not taken that for granted.
“He is always teaching us about real-world stuff," Spurs point guard Tre Jones said. "He puts the whole basketball thing in perspective always. His energy is always there ... he's always completely present and in the moment, trying to do everything he can to help us."
If anything is certain about Popovich, it's that his legacy is one that won't be forgotten anytime soon ... or ever.
That's Coach Pop — a true Spurs legend ... and Hall-of-Famer.
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