NBA legends, San Antonio’s mayor and even Whataburger congratulated Pop on his Hall of Fame coaching career.
SAN ANTONIO — An era has officially ended for San Antonio’s beloved Spurs—and the beloved man synonymous with the franchise.
The team announced Friday morning that Gregg Popovich – the Hall of Famer who has more wins than any other head coach in NBA history – is transitioning from the sidelines to becoming the Spurs’ full-time president going forward. It ends a legendary, 29-year coaching tenure highlighted by five NBA titles, three Coach of the Year awards and an Olympic Games gold medal.
If there’s any doubt about the impact Popovich has had on the sport, they’re thrown out of bounds by the sheer number of tributes that came pouring in on social media—featuring messages from the many Spurs players he’s coached over the last three decades.
See those posts below, starting with the Spurs’ tribute.
Some of the team’s youngest players may not have had as much time with Popovich as Duncan, Parker or Ginobili, but they now have the distinction of being the last Spurs he’d draw up plays for.
That includes, fittingly, the central piece of the next era of Spurs basketball.
NBA legends who often matched up against Pop’s Spurs squads gave their own shoutouts, including Kevin Garnett.
Opposing teams, too, took a moment to recognize Coach Pop’s greatness.
Popovich transcended the sport to become inextricable with the fabric of San Antonio. That’s something outgoing Mayor Ron Nirenberg acknowledged in his message.
Popovich was a Texas institution. It only made sense that others would offer their own message.
And, yes, even Lil Wayne shared his congratulations on Pop’s career.