One of the greatest coaches in NBA history Gregg Popovich officially announced his retirement from coaching this offseason after missing most of this season after suffering a stroke. The San Antonio Spurs legend will move into a front office role with the franchise, but over his 29 seasons as a head coach, he developed a number of long-lasting relationships throughout the league, including with Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James.
James has faced off with Popovich’s Spurs in the NBA Finals three times and also played under him in the 2004 Olympics when the latter was an assistant coach under Larry Brown. And in the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, LeBron showered Popovich with praise as a coach and a person:
James would continue on, reflecting on his time with Popovich at the Olympics in 2004 and the overall admiration he has for the legendary coach:
Popovich certainly had a lot of battles with both LeBron and the Lakers over the years, but there is no questioning his impact as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league as a five-time NBA Champion and the winningest coach ever.
Popovich was not just an amazing coach, but is also a truly special human being and while it is great that he will still be involved in the game as an executive with the Spurs, he will be missed on the sidelines.
