NBA Players Want to Play for Spurs' Gregg Popovich

Gregg Popovich has made the San Antonio Spurs one of the most respectable organizations in the NBA and sports world.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 18, 2023

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San Antonio Spurs

It's hard to record respect as a metric, but it's clear that San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has a lot of it.

As the all-time league leader in wins, Popovich has earned his respect in the league all the way to a bust in the Hall of Fame coming later this year.

But another way to value respect comes in others' opinions. In a recent anonymous survey conducted by The Athletic, 25.3 percent of 95 players chose Popovich as the coach players would like to play for apart from their own.

“Pop” is a repeat winner here, which is impressive considering the state of the Spurs these days," The Athletic writes. "It has been nine years since he won his fifth title as a coach and six years since San Antonio got out of the first round of the playoffs, meaning today’s players are appreciating his legacy and reputation independent of the current results during this rebuilding stage."

“I’ve watched him for a long time win a lot of championships,” an anonymous player told The Athletic. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. From afar, he has a personality. I want to see what it would be like to play for a coach like that.”

As the Spurs rebuild, it will be interesting to see how important of a role Popovich will play when attracting free agents this summer.

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Published Apr 18, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.