“Basketball is a pretty simple game. What wins is consistency and competitiveness”. This has been coach Gregg Popovich‘s mantra. This carries great weight as Popovich has seen it all. As head coach, he’s a 5× NBA champion, 3× NBA Coach of the Year, 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach, 3× SCIAC champion, and one of the top 15 coaches in NBA’s history. Born on January 28, 1949, Popovich has been a living example of success. Having the most wins as a coach and with a winning record against every single NBA team, ‘Coach Pop’ is easily one of the greatest coaches in the world of basketball. But how did he earn so much success? Let’s explore how this kid from Chicago went on to capture the kingdom of basketball!

A Kid from Chicago to U.S. Armed Forces basketball team: Gregg Popovich’s first steps

Coach Pop was born in East Chicago, to a Serbian father, Raymond Popovich, and a Croatian mother, Katherine Popovich. He attended Merrillville High School. But do you know he wasn’t always a basketball fanatic? After graduating high school in 1966, he attended the United States Air Force Academy. Here he fell in love with basketball. In his senior year, he was part of the Air Force Falcons men’s basketball team.

After captaining the team and graduating in 1970 he served five years of required active duty in the United States Air Force. He also toured the Soviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces Basketball Team. It was the year 1972 that changed his career. In the AAU, he was the captain of the Armed Forces Team and led them to a championship victory. After this, the U.S. Olympic basketball team sent him an invitation for their guard. But how did he turn into coaching?

From young boy to coaching legend: Gregg Popovich’s steps to greatness

After returning to the Air Force Academy in 1973, he took up the role of an assistant coach under Hanks Egan. He earned a master’s degree in physical education and sports sciences from the University of Denver, during his time as an assistant coach. After serving six years as an assistant, in 1979, he finally became the head coach for the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Under his guidance, the team earned its first title since long 68 years.

During his tenure at Pomona-Pitzer, Popovich became a friend of Larry Brown at Kansas, even volunteering as an assistant to learn directly from him. After returning to Pomona in 1987-88, he joined the Spurs as Brown’s top assistant from 1988 to 1992. But when the entire coaching staff was fired, Popovich briefly moved to the Warriors in 1992 as an assistant under Hall of Famer Don Nelson. How did those experiences shape his coaching philosophy?

San Antonio Spurs: the beginning of Coach Pop’s legendary career

After the former CEO of HoltCat, Peter Holt purchased the San Antonio Spurs in 1994, coach Pop returned as general manager. This saw impactful moves like signing Avery Johnson and trading Dennis Rodman to the Bulls for Will Perdue. However, it started with a rough 3-15 in the 1996-97 season. Due to this, the Spurs fired the then-head coach Bob Hill, and ‘Coach Pop’ took charge in 1996. With a team battling with injuries and a dismal 20-62 record, the disaster granted their first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Tim Duncan.

But when did he transform the Spurs? “I’m not too interested in talking about the past. It doesn’t do us any good whatsoever”, he once said. With superstars like Duncan and David Robinson forming the formidable “Twin Towers,” the Spurs rebounded, winning 56 games in 1997–98 and capturing their first NBA title in 1999. It served as the big break for Spurs as well as for Popovich. Remember when he said, “How do I describe the win? It’s a good win. I don’t know how you describe a win. It’s better than a loss. I’m not trying to be flip or anything. I just don’t know how you describe wins.”

Over the years Coach Pop registered five championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) into his name. But this isn’t the end of his achievements. He went on to earn three NBA Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2012, 2014). By 2015, he became the ninth coach to win 1,000 games with one franchise. Fast forward to 2023, Popovich signed a five-year extension, ensuring his presence in San Antonio through the 2027–28 season. With such an illustrious career, what drives Popovich to continue coaching at 75? He has not coached in the NBA, he went to coach the US. Men’s basketball team.

Continuing legacy into the national team

Popovich’s national team career began as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s national team in 2002. The team won the bronze medal win at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After serving under Mike Krzyzewski, he took the helm in 2015. Once he said, “Basketball’s a game of mistakes.” Just like that, his national team career didn’t went well. His team faced challenges, in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, they finished 17th, the worst ever since.

But he didn’t stop there, he made his comeback as a national team coach with the U.S. winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing with a 5–1 record and defeating France 87–82 in the final. What insights did Popovich gain from these experiences? How did he adapt his coaching style for international competition? But have you ever wondered how much he gets paid?

Cost of leadership: What makes a top coach worth it?

According to Front Office Sports, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the USA men’s basketball team and Golden State Warriors is currently the highest-paid head coach with an impressive $17.5 million per season, Gregg Popovich is currently the second-highest-paid coach in the NBA. Since, 2023 he has earned $16 million per season. This lucrative contract reflects both his legendary status in the league and the San Antonio Spurs’ commitment to retaining their iconic leader. Below is a breakdown of his recent contract details:

As Gregg Popovich continues to shape the future of the NBA and inspire those around him, one question lingers: what new heights will he achieve, and how will he further influence the game he has dedicated his life to?