Spurs icon Gregg Popovich has another shot at the limelight, thanks to Victor Wembanyama

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It’s been fair to wonder what exactly Gregg Popovich was hanging onto.

The man has won five NBA titles in San Antonio. His 1,366 career regular-season coaching victories is most in league history. He’s widely considered one of the top five NBA coaches ever. He led the United States to gold in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He has plenty of money. He never seemed much for fame.

So as his age crept up — 74 years old — and the Spurs win total dropped — 22-60 last season, the fourth consecutive losing campaign — why would a man with nothing left to prove keep going out there and trying to prove things?

What could be the motivation for an all-time winner to go out night after night and get his brains beaten in rather than retire to a life of sipping his preferred vintage.

Tim Duncan wasn’t walking through that door, to borrow an old phrase from another old coach.

Or maybe he is.

Popovich was handed a late-career, late-in-life gift Tuesday when San Antonio won the NBA Draft Lottery and was granted the No. 1 overall selection in the draft on June 22.

It will almost assuredly select Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 phenom from France. Wembanyama, 19, won’t make the Spurs title contenders overnight — even LeBron didn’t get Cleveland to the NBA Finals until his fourth season. Wembanyama will tilt the record though and return the franchise to relevancy.

Gregg Popovich hasn’t had an easy run on the sidelines the past few seasons. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A next-generation talent should tantalize the league’s oldest coach. This is the professional marriage between grizzled teacher and one of the most unique prospects the sport has ever seen.

Popovich is not under contract for next year, at least not anything that is public. The Spurs are more of a family shop though. If he wants to return, it stands to reason he will return. Who could push him out? And why would they want that?

Who better to work on a daily basis with Wembanyama during his formative years? Who better to try to develop a generational talent than a coach from two generations before him — a 55-year age gap?

And so for a coach who has seen seemingly…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-05-19 17:58:37

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