Greg Popovich NBA Legacy: 3 Memorable Moments That Define Coach Pop's Greatness

(Photo : Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during the first half of an NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on November 14, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich remains one of the respectable figures in basketball and rarely holds back. The five-time NBA champion has established himself as someone who will say it straight to anyone's face, including fans watching a game.

That was in full display when the Spurs faced the Los Angeles Clippers. A familiar name on the Clippers' side is Kawhi Leonard, someone who used to play under coach Pop and San Antonio until 2018.

Like most players who move to other teams, Leonard was unsurprisingly booed upon his return to the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, November 22.

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Ironically, Popovich made an unusual move when Leonard was at the free-throw line. He took the mic and addressed the fans on hand.

"Excuse me for a second. Please stop all the booing and let these guys play. It's got no class and it's not who we are. Knock off the booing," the 74-year-old coach said.

The Spurs went on to lose, 109-102. But Popovich's gesture was unexpected but classy.

Here are some other epic Greg Popovich moments that most may recall.

Popovich on the World Champion tag

This topic went viral this year: whether to call NBA champions as World Champions. Most recall that it was trickster Noah Lyles who started it all. However, it was found that Popovich made a similar statement back in 2010, per Bleacher Report.

"It doesn't make sense for an NBA team to call themselves World Champions. I don't remember anybody playing outside our borders to get that tag," Popovich said back in 2010.

The Los Angeles Lakers were the champions that year, defeating the Boston Celtics in 7 games via the LA Times.

Popovich goes off on reporter while coaching Team USA

Popovich is the kind of guy who can shame anyone if they don't ask the proper questions. When he was coaching Team USA back in 2021, he did not appreciate a question thrown by a reporter.

The question was addressed to Damian Lillard, but Popovich got miffed at the question. Things got heated at some point, with the three-time NBA Coach of the Year lecturing the reporter that the Sports Center had captured.

Popovich is hardly afraid of being thrown out of games

Gregg Popovich will never back down from an argument, especially if he knows he is right. That includes official NBA games. Popovich has gotten his share of ejections for arguing with game officials throughout his career. In 2019, he became the first NBA head coach ever to get a quick ejection when the Spurs played the Denver Nuggets. He was banished after only 1 minute and three seconds in the matchup via Marca.com.

Aside from these moments, a lot may come to mind. Some may be heated, while others may be comedic. For as long as coach Pop is actively coaching, fans can expect more unusual moves from the unpredictable and moody NBA champion coach.

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