San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich won his 1,000th game on Monday night, as his team edged the Indiana Pacers 95-93 after Spurs forward Marco Belinelli hit an 18-foot jumper from the baseline with only 2.1 seconds left.
The Spurs came back from a 79-65 deficit entering the fourth, only the third time they have come back from a 14-point to deficit to begin a final quarter under Popovich.
The Pacers began the fourth quarter up by that 14-point margin, and still led 91-82 with 5:35 to go, but could only get one field goal the rest of the game, a 20-foot pull-up jumper from Rodney Stuckey with 2:33 left.
Danny Green’s driving layup and Kawhi Leonard’s three-point began the Spurs’ rally. Tim Duncan followed with another layup and Tony Parker hit two free throws, tying the score 91-91 with 2:59 left.
After Stuckey’s basket that put the Pacers back ahead, Spurs center Aron Baynes tipped in a missed jumper by Leonard with 56.7 seconds left, setting the stage for Belinelli’s game-winning jumper. The Pacer’s George Hill would get one final shot, but his three-point attempt at the buzzer clanged off rim, and the mild celebration for Popovich began.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN0ns9MGTOA
Popovich celebrated in his typical low-key way by walking to midcourt, putting an arm around Pacers coach Frank Vogel, and calmly walking into the Spurs’ locker room, hugging a former player on the way.
He did later say that he might drink some wine afterwards though, so good for him.
It is highly appropriate that the milestone win occurred in Indiana. Popovich was actually born in northwest Indiana and grew up playing high school basketball in Merrillville, Indiana.
He was quick to give credit to his players after the game.
“I’ve been here a long time and I’ve had good players. That’s the formula,” Popovich said. “Getting the players is difficult, but I’ve been fortunate to have good ones. The time, that’s the most important element. You have to be around for a while I guess.”
Tim Duncan, who along with Popovich comprises the coach/player duo with the highest amount of wins in NBA history, was equally as stoic with his post-game reaction.
“He probably downplayed it as much as I will,” Duncan said. “It’s another win. It’ll look great when we look back on it.”
Popovich’s record is now 1,000-462, all with the Spurs. Only two coaches, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, reached 1,000 wins faster than Popovich. The only other coach to achieve the mark with the same team is Jerry Sloan, who won 1,127 games with the Utah Jazz. Popovich’s regular-season winning percentage of .684 ranks fifth all time, while his playoff winning percentage of .623 is seventh.
Although his career’s ending is yet to be written, Popovich certainly began under controversial circumstances, only to quickly prove himself the following season.
After San Antonio, who had won at least 55 games in the three previous seasons, got off to a bad and injury-plagued 3-15 start in 1996-97, Popovich, who was the team’s general manager and vice president of basketball operations at the time, fired head coach Bob Hill, and assumed the position himself.
With David Robinson appearing in only six games, the Spurs would finish the year 17-47 under Popovich. The losing mark enabled the team to nab the No. 1 overall pick in the draft a few months later, which they would use to take Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest.
And the rest is history.
Over the next 17 seasons, Popovich’s Spurs won at least 50 games 16 times, and probably would’ve made it 17 if not for the strike-shortened season in 1998-99, when the Spurs went 37-13 en route to Popovich’s first NBA title. He has since gone on to win four more titles and three Coach of the Year awards, while grooming several assistants into successful head coaches themselves, such as the Atlanta Hawks’ current coach Mike Budenholzer.
Popovich has emphasized a rigid defense-first mentality during his time, while also cultivating a strong inside game complimented on the perimeter by capable point guards such as Tony Parker. He has been able to adapt his style around several changes to NBA rules, and currently employs an un-selfish ball-sharing offense that many teams in the league are beginning to emulate after witnessing his sustained success.
Always a practical coach, Popovich has never hesitated to pull a player after a bad play or shot, and has been known to randomly rest multiple star players for extended periods of time as he sees fit. That practice has come under fire from both fans and people like former NBA commissioner David Stern, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
Tony Parker, who has won four championships with Popovich, shared his sentiments after the game.
“A thousand wins, that’s a lot of wins and I feel very lucky that I’ve been with him for a lot of them,” Parker said. “We’ve experienced so much stuff together. I’m just very happy for him.”
And while Popovich is also happy for win number 1,000, he was no doubt already pouring over notes and game video while preparing for an attempt at win number 1,001 shortly afterwards…with a much-deserved glass of wine in hand.
