On January 28, 1949, Gregg Charles Popovich, an American professional basketball coach was born in East Chicago, Indiana, to a Serbian father and a Croatian mother. Popovich played basketball at the air force academy for four seasons.
He spent five years of required active service in the United States Air Force after touring Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. During a particular period, Popovich considered working for Central Intelligence Agency.
He was instrumental in leading San Antonio Spurs to an overall winning record in all 22 seasons as head coach. He is one of 5 NBA coaches who have won 5 NBA titles. Pop guided the Pomona-Pitzer Men’s Basketball from 1979 to 1988, leading the team to its first major trophy in 68 years.
His love for orange ball started when he was 11 years old, more precisely in the Biddy Basketball tournament. Such was his talent that same year he was chosen for the All-Star Game competition. In addition, his team finished third in the general standing.
During his teen days, he attended Merrillville High School. He was not only an excellent athlete but also a great student. This allowed him to begin dreaming of a career at the United States Air Force Academy.
Gregg Popovich – An incredible career
Gregg graduated from high school in 1970 and, thanks to his good grades, he was able to be accepted into the Air Force. Discipline, respect for superiors, and hard work were taught by his teachers from day one, and these teachings accompany him to this day.
As if that weren’t enough, Gregg started to play basketball. In his rookie year, he has already started leading his team. He was a captain in three of the four seasons in the academy and the team’s top scorer in his final year.
Eventually, he received a Bachelor of Soviet Studies and began his training in Air Force intelligence. Everyone hoped that he would be one of the agents who, in the future, would be part of the national army. His ability displayed in the Armed Forces basketball team got him a nomination to the Olympic Basketball Team trials.
The course changed when he decided to start graduate school with a very different orientation. He would enroll at the University of Denver to study physical education. From then on, his life would never be the same again.
While his new career began, Pop was returning to the Air Force, but he would be part of the team’s coaching staff this time. He was an assistant coach, and he alternated his days between Denver and the Academy, and, under the wing of Head Coach Hank Egan, he would begin his early apprenticeships.
Gregg Popovich – Passion first
With a bit of experience in the Armed Forces Team, Gregg Popovich got his first chance in 1979. He was appointed as Pomona-Pitzer’s University head basketball coach. In his nine years there, Gregg Popovich led his team to the first championship in the University’s history.
During his time at Pomona, Gregg became friends with Larry Brown, who was then running Kansas. Such was the friendship that for the 1985-86 season, the Kansas man offered him a volunteer assistant position on his team. Pop didn’t even hesitate, and it was a great choice.
After that season, Pop would return to Pomona as a head coach to continue exercising all he had learned in Kansas. He didn’t see it as a setback, and he knew his time would come … sooner or later.
Thus, in the 1987-88 season, Brown offered him a position as an assistant coach at the San Antonio Spurs. For four seasons, he was by his side and shared the bench with quality coaches from Buford, Gentry, and others.
Unfortunately, the team owner, Red McCombs, decided to fire the entire staff due to poor results. Pop took his services to the Golden State Warriors, where he was an assistant coach under the wing of the great Don Nelson and his controversial Run and Gun style.
Surprisingly, Pop returned to the team in 1994. This time he would be the general manager. His first transaction was to bring in Avery Johnson, one of the best point guards of the day. Also, he traded Dennis Rodman to the Detroit Pistons.
Gregg Popovich – A key decision
Unfortunately, the results did not accompany him in the first years. This caused that after a start of 3-15 in 1996-07, Pop decided to fire the current coach of that moment, coach Bob Hill, to put himself at the forefront of technical leadership
The Texans’ crisis escalated when their best player, David Robinson, was injured and missed the entire season. This caused San Antonio to reap a lousy record of 20 wins and 62 losses. Despite that, the sun would start to rise after the storm.
Their disastrous record would allow them to have the number one pick in the 1997 draft. Consequently, the most incredible talent of recent years was declared eligible for the draft. His name was Tim Duncan, and he came from the famed Wake Forest University. Of course, San Antonio did not hesitate and selected him in the first position.
That move allowed the Texans to pair one of the most dominant pivots (Robinson) with the most promising four of the day (Duncan). The foundations of glory were beginning to sit at that precise moment.
With Popovich taking the reins from the first minute, San Antonio had 56 wins the following season. Then, in the 1998-99 season, the dream came true, and the Spurs claimed their first title with Gregg on the bench and the Tim / David duo on the court.
Everything remained positive until 2002. At that point, Pop resigned his position as G.M. and promoted RC Buford, who was then a scout for the team. With RC in office and Gregg on the court, San Antonio was on the right track.
Gregg Popovich – Coach, but also a developer
In those later titles, Gregg was a pioneer in choosing international players of the quality of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, among others. He also fired coaches like Ettore Messina, Mike Budenholzer, Brett Brown, Steve Kerr, and Quin Snyder.
Not satisfied with that, he is a defender of women’s rights, and he proved it by being the first NBA coach to incorporate one into his staff. Her name is Becky Hammon, and those who know the subject believe that she will be the first woman to be in charge of a North American franchise.
Despite all that, Gregg is still on the bench, developing new players and touting his philosophy of respect, tradition, and quality. No one is more recognized than him in league circles and eminence of basketball and the NBA.
Gregg Popovich – National team coaching career
Popovich served as the U.S. men’s National Team coach for the 2002 and 2003 FIBA World Championships. Gregg served in a role as Lead Assistant Coach to George Karl. He became U.S. head coach after the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Popovich led the team to a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by defeating France with an 87-82 victory on August 24 (2021 ). But before that, at the World Championship in China( 2020) U.S. team finished 7th – the worst place finish at the international level.
Gregg Popovich – coaching records
There is data that confirms and illustrates Pop’s validity: since he took the job with San Antonio in December 1996, 270 coaches have been used in the rest of the teams. All franchises had a minimum of three coaches in this time, and touching a cap of 14 in one of them. But Old Pop is still in Texas …
Another fact to keep in mind is that San Antonio became the owner of the best streak of consecutive appearances in the Playoffs. The Spurs have been in the postseason for 22 years in a row, and the last time they were absent was in 1996-1997, Gregg Popovich first in command and the last before the arrival of Tim Duncan. They share the record with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Gregg Popovich – Net Worth
Gregg Popovich is an esteemed American basketball coach with an estimated net worth of $40 million. Throughout his illustrious career, Popovich has achieved a multitude of accolades, including five NBA championships and three NBA Coach of the Year awards. His success on the court has been matched by his philanthropy off it, with Popovich donating to numerous charities over the years. It’s no wonder he’s regarded as one of the most influential figures in the sport today.
Gregg Popovich – family
Gregg Popovich was married to Erin Popovich (neeConboy) from 1976 until her death on April 18, 2018. The basketball world was shocked by the tragic news of Erin’s passing that made the news later in the day of her death. Condolences from her fellow coaches and her players came as the media tried to reflect on the nearly 7 decades of life she lived.
Erin was born in 1951, turning 67 years old, upon her death. When she was alive, Erin turned down all invitations for interviews since the mid-1990s NBA, and she stayed as far away from the spotlight as possible.
When her husband won his first NBA championship with the Spurs in 1999, Pop had to argue with security guards to get her and the kids to join him on the Madison Square court to celebrate.
Pop and Erin met during their college years at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
Although Erin’s health had not allowed her to make public appearances with her husband as she would have liked, she was still supporting his career. She was particularly interested in how Pop handled his post-game interviews by wanting him to be “less salty” with his words.
The marriage lasted more than four decades and produced two children, a son named Micky Popovich and a daughter, Jill Popovich.
When will Gregg Popovich retire?
Popovich’s retirement has been a speculation for years, but he does not seem to be in that line for now. He will surely come one day, without notifying the fan – true to his style – when he will get up and just feel like it’s time to quit.
\In the spring of 2019, he agreed to three more seasons with a team from Texas, but in the same way, he pointed out that he would make the decision year after year. He has not commented on anything for the 2022-23 season, but everything indicates that he will continue to be the leader of the Spurs from the bench.
In the organization, they are clear: as long as he wants to continue training the team, that is how it will be. He’s a valuable asset to just about any team and one of the finest coaches in NBA history.
Where is coach Popovich from?
Popovich was born in East Chicago, Indiana, United States, however, his mother was Croatian and his father was Serbian.
Did coach Popovich play in the NBA?
Popovich graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 with a degree in Soviet studies. While there, he played basketball for four seasons and was named captain of his team as a senior. He averaged 14.3 points per game before returning to the Academy as an assistant, where he started his coaching career. Popovich never came back to playing on the court and he never played for any NBA teams.
