San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is wasting no time adding to his collection of infamous mid-game interviews for public display.
The Spurs were playing the Houston Rockets during a preseason game televised by TNT, when sideline reporter Craig Sager called upon him to do the obligatory interview prior to the start of the fourth quarter.
Sager couldn't even get his first question out when Popovich blurted out, "This is the preseason, right? We've got to do this in the preseason - are you kidding me?
"The preseason, we've got to do this? The preseason?"
The rant almost took on a form similar to Allen Iverson's "We're talkin' about practice" interview. Give Popovich credit. He may act like a fool, but he has fans waiting to see what he'll do next.
Sager retorted that he needed to practice and then tried ask a serious question, "What was your biggest challenge this preseason"
Oh my gosh," Popovich retorted, "getting to the restaurant on time."
Popovich has become such an icon simply for his in-game videos that TNT put together a highlight video lasting five minutes, 49 seconds of Popovich's greatest hits during in-game interviews. This was in 2012.
Larry Brown Sports commented on Popovich's disdain for the mid-game interview and lauded Popovich for seeming contempt for having to conduct them. But it did add that Popovich did go out of his way often to ridicule Sager.
"If you watch the video, you'll notice the first minute is spent showing Gregg Popovich essentially abusing TNT reporter Craig Sager during interviews. Sometimes the Spurs coach kept it simple and made fun of Sager's outfits, but in another clip he wiped his nose with Sager's hanky. That was pretty darn disrespectful."
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