When Gregg Popovich speaks, people listen.
The Spurs coaching legend spoke after San Antonio’s Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Spurs listened.
This is according to Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox, who had a story to tell NBC after San Antonio’s 103-82 Game 4 win Sunday night that tied the Western Conference finals at 2-2.
The Spurs appeared listless after opening a 15-0 lead in Game 3 and allowed the Thunder to outscore them by 30 from there en route to a 123-108 OKC win. After the game, Fox said Popovich entered the postgame locker room to have a word.
Here’s Fox’s version of the story:
“Pop’s been around like throughout the course of the season,” Fox said. “But that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, nah, that’s BS, that’s not how we play basketball.
“Obviously, he had some choice words for it. That was the first time all season he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.”
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Popovich spent 28-plus seasons as San Antonio’s head coach, leading the Spurs to five NBA championships. He retired last season as the NBA’s all-time winningest head coach (1,390 wins). He’s on the NBA coaching Mount Rushmore.
A stroke ended his career earlier than he intended early in the 2024-25 season. But he was head coach Mitch Johnson’s mentor and remains active around the team in an official capacity as “El Jefe.”
He’s there for Spurs players and coaches to offer advice, experience and wisdom — and, apparently, the occasional kick in the ass.
The Spurs were in need of the latter after Friday’s Game 3 loss and, per Fox, Popovich was more than happy to provide it.
They responded Sunday night with a dominant, wire-to-wire win over the reigning champion Thunder, and the Western Conference championship is up for grabs as a best-of-three series from here.
He may no longer be San Antonio’s head coach, but he remains an asset as the Spurs seek their first NBA title of the post-Popovich era.
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