Holt fired the old coach and persuaded Popovich to add coaching to his general manager duties.
Popovich drafted Duncan a year later, and the team won its first title in 1999.
Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played their entire careers for the same delightfully straight-talking coach, Gregg Popovich.
Popovich said he would be cautious with the two stars, knowing he needs them later this season.
The NBA will come down hard on the Spurs and Popovich to protect its media partners and fans.
FORBES: San Antonio Resting Stars Is Good For Spurs, But Bad For NBA
"I think he should be in every conversation for any award that's going to be given, " Popovich said.
Popovich has always taken a long view of the NBA season, knowing the real action starts in April with the playoffs.
FORBES: San Antonio Resting Stars Is Good For Spurs, But Bad For NBA
Before Sunday's game, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joked about how much he enjoyed crushing Carlesimo, a former assistant of his.
This is not the first time Popovich has rested his veterans.
FORBES: San Antonio Resting Stars Is Good For Spurs, But Bad For NBA
The real reason is because the league is ticked that Popovich denied TV audiences and paying fans an appetizing Spurs vs Heat match-up in late November.
FORBES: San Antonio Roster Management, David Stern, and Asinine Bullying by NBA
And to steal an infamous line from San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich, this course is about to show the golfers and golf fans some nasty.
FORBES: The Olympic Club Puts the 'Nasty' into U.S. Open Championship Golf
Notes: The Spurs beat the Nets 104-73 on New Year's Eve in Brooklyn's third game under Carlesimo, an assistant to Popovich in San Antonio from 2002-07.
Among North America's four major pro sports, Ruff's tenure with Buffalo was second only behind Gregg Popovich, who's been coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs since 1996.
But Thursday night, Popovich and the Spurs stuck it to the NBA and commissioner David Stern by having its three stars, Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, plus starting guard Danny Green sent home to San Antonio to rest, while the remaining Spurs faced off against the Miami Heat in a nationally televised game from Miami.
FORBES: San Antonio Resting Stars Is Good For Spurs, But Bad For NBA
And since 1997, when the 6-foot-11 Wake Forest grad first donned the silver and black as the NBA draft's No. 1 overall pick, no American sports team has done that job better. it's hard to imagine that's not primarily a product of Duncan's no-nonsense efficiency, though Fratello points out that Popovich and the Spurs' front office -- as well as the personnel it's paired with Duncan -- deserve credit.
应用推荐