Gregg Popovich

• 1. From East Chicago To The Academy

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  Gregg Charles Popovich was born on the 28th of January 1949, in East Chicago, Indiana. His father came from Serbia and his mother from Croatia. He graduated from Merrillville High School in 1966 before attending the United States Air Force Academy. Popovich played basketball for the Air Force Falcons men's team during his college years. In his senior year he served as captain and led the team in scoring. He earned a bachelor's degree in Soviet studies in 1970 after completing his training at the academy.

• 2. The Military Tour And Early Coaching

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  Popovich served five years of required active duty in the United States Air Force following graduation. During this period he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces Basketball Team. In 1972 he was selected as captain of that team which won the Amateur Athletic Union championship. This achievement earned him an invitation to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team trials. After his military service ended he returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach under head coach Hank Egan in 1973. While coaching there he earned a master's degree in physical education and sports sciences from the University of Denver.

• 3. Learning Under Larry Brown

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  In 1979 Popovich became the head coach of the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in Claremont, California. The joint men's basketball team had not won an outright title in 68 years before he arrived. Popovich coached the team until 1988 when he took a leave to study directly under Larry Brown at the University of Kansas during the 1985, 86 season. He resumed his duties as head coach the next year after completing his apprenticeship. Following the 1987, 88 season he joined Brown as the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. From 1988 to 1992 he served as Brown's top assistant alongside colleagues R.C. Buford, Alvin Gentry, and Ed Manning.

• 4. The First Championship And A New Era

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  Popovich returned to San Antonio in 1994 as general manager and vice president of basketball operations after Peter Holt purchased the team. His first move was signing Avery Johnson as the starting point guard. Another early decision involved trading Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls for Will Perdue. After a disastrous 3, 15 start in the 1996, 97 season with David Robinson sidelined by injury, Popovich fired Bob Hill on the 10th of December 1996. He named himself head coach but the team struggled further due to injuries to key players like Sean Elliott and Chuck Person. The Spurs won only 17 games that remainder of the season finishing 20, 62 overall. This poor record gave them the first pick in the 1997 NBA draft where they selected Tim Duncan from Wake Forest University. The team blossomed under his leadership winning their first NBA title in 1999.

• 5. Five Titles And Record Wins

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  Popovich has won five championships with the Spurs in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. He became the ninth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games when the Spurs defeated the Indiana Pacers 95, 93 on the 9th of February 2015. On the 13th of April 2019 he surpassed Lenny Wilkens to become the all-time winningest coach in NBA history with his 1,413th combined regular season and playoff victory. By the 11th of March 2022 he had surpassed Don Nelson for most regular season wins of all time reaching 1,336 victories. Popovich needed 370 fewer games than Nelson to achieve this milestone. He also led the Spurs to a franchise-high 67 wins during the 2015, 16 season before losing in the conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.