“He’s not the typical coach for sure. He’s in tune with what is going on around the world with people and with race” said then San Antonio Spurs player LaMarcus Aldrige in support of Gregg Popovich back in 2016. Called out as ‘NBA’s most ‘woke’ coach’ in an Andscape report the same year, the NBA legend has often taken a stance on social issues over the last few years. During his 36-year tenure in the NBA, he has spent 28 years with the Spurs and hasn’t been afraid to speak out on race and ethnicity.

Against this backdrop, it’s crucial to understand more about the Spurs legend’s family background and religious affiliation.

What is Gregg Popovich’s ethnicity and religion?

Gregg Popovich, born in January 1949 in East Chicago, Indiana, is an American citizen with Serbian and Croatian heritage. His father, Raymond Popovich, was of Serbian descent, while his mother, Katherine Popovich, had Croatian roots. Popovich’s grandparents emigrated to the United States, likely seeking better opportunities for their family.

After his parents’ separation, Popovich and his mother moved to Merriville, Indiana, where he was raised in a diverse community. This multicultural environment, coupled with his heritage, instilled in him strong values of hard work, family, and resilience, while also broadening his perspective through interactions with people from various backgrounds.

“I grew up in an integrated area,” said Popovich in an interview with ‘The Undefeated’. “We lived in a project called ‘Sunnyside.’ Everyone had jobs in the steel mill. There was a Puerto Rican family, a black family and Czechoslovakian family, a Serbian family, whatever. Everybody was fine because everybody had a job. It kind of does boil down to that. If you’re disenfranchised, you got no job, you got no hope, you got nothing, bad things are going to start to happen. It’s not just America, it’s all over the world. Maybe that’s where I started to be aware of things.”

Reports have linked Gregg Popovich’s religious links to lean more towards Christianity. However, the 75-year-old has never gone into too much length about his beliefs, at least publicly. Though he is known for his charity, Popovich has also indicated that for him, the people he knows may sometimes take a front seat over religion.

“Most real, consistent, true person” – Gregg Popovich once revealed that he would choose to dine With Tim Duncan Over Jesus

Throughout NBA history, legendary coaches have often been linked to iconic players. For Phil Jackson, it was Michael Jordan; for Steve Kerr, it’s Stephen Curry. Similarly, in Gregg Popovich’s 28-year tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan became that defining figure. Between 1997 and 2016, Popovich and Duncan forged a remarkable partnership, steering the Spurs to five NBA championships. Their relationship, built on mutual respect and understanding, transcended the court, solidifying a bond that remains memorable even today.

By 2016, their connection was so profound that Gregg Popovich once humorously remarked that he would prefer to have dinner with Tim Duncan over anyone else — even the son of God.

“Everybody always talks about who they’d like to eat dinner with, if you had one night and could go to dinner, go to lunch with so-and-so, who would you like to do it with? People say Mother Teresa and Jesus and the Dalai Lama. OK, I get it,” said Popovich in a statement. “I can honestly tell you, my dinner would be with Timmy. It would be because he’s the most real, consistent, true person I’ve ever met in my life.”

Gregg Popovich, though religious, places a higher value on people. Influenced by his multicultural background, he has consistently spoken out in support of marginalized groups. This demonstrates that some values come with time, while others are shaped by upbringing.