A glimpse into the OTHER side of a true renaissance man; Greg Popovich

April 18, 2019 11:51 AM

Michelin restaurants and fabulous wines: Inside the secret team dinners that have built the Spurs' dynasty

I knew that Pop was a renaissance man from reading about the Spurs culture and how he does things differently and hearing him talk about issues other than Basketball. But this article is something else. I was awe stricken. Not by the description of his love of good food and wine; but what he uses it for. To get people out of their comfort zone so he can get to know them as people. I always thought that the whole "Spurs Way" thing was hokey, media inspired exaggeration; but this article is forcing me to look at it differently.

What this reminds me of is the Legendary Red Auerbach and his Chinese dinners in DC. I read a book on that by John Feinstein. Pop almost reminds me of that.

posted by indianbadger1 (35 comments total)

I just wanted to add; the story of the Other Popovich is really something. :-)

And of course; I have misspelled his name again. Can the moderators fix this. Thanks
posted by indianbadger1 at 11:54 AM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

That final anecdote is pretty cool.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:41 PM on April 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Turns out this piece isn't about Levy and Pochettino...
posted by matthewr at 12:41 PM on April 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

turns out this piece isn't about Levy and Pochettino...

Different Spurs
posted by JPD at 12:52 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

No, it's about the Spurs who have won the league in my lifetime.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:52 PM on April 18, 2019

But holy shit was yesterday's match against City something.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:53 PM on April 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

I knew i liked him, but this made me love him. "Food and wine" is not only an incredible answer to "what do you want to be remembered for" but also the only possible knuckle-tattoo situation i would consider.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:02 PM on April 18, 2019 [14 favorites]

I haven't read the article yet, but I will say that as a balding, ruddily-complected, big-nosed middle-aged white guy in management, Gregg Popovich I kinda my role model.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:03 PM on April 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yes, but do they have a cheese room in the stadium tunnel?
posted by biffa at 1:08 PM on April 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

Oh BOY, I have a really good Pop story that relates to this.

In the mid-2000s, back when the Spurs were a Duncan/Ginobli/Parker juggernaut, my wife and I went out for a splurge holiday dinner at D'Amico Cucina in downtown Minneapolis, which happens to be right across the street from the Target Center, where the Timberwolves play.

After we finished this extra-fancy meal, we were getting our coats on and in walks a scraggly looking gentleman in a black and silver track suit. Being a basketball fan, I am immediately agog at seeing this member of Basketball Royalty. But my wife doesn't know him from Adam, and since I was speechless at that moment, didn't tell her. She approaches this guy, clearly not dressed for a restaurant as fancy as D'Amico

Wife: "Did you go to the game?"

Pop: "Yeah, I did."

Wife: "Who won."

Pop (smiles wryly): "We did."

The he picks up his very high-end to-go food and walks out the door.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:12 PM on April 18, 2019 [29 favorites]

I spent 10 years in San Antonio and never learned that Pop got his first head coach job at Pomona-Pitzer in the 80s? (Pomona-Pitzer the natural arch-rivals of my own division III alma mater) He is such an icon I feel like we all believed that he sprung, fully formed, out of the San Antonio river.
posted by muddgirl at 1:14 PM on April 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

In case you're not familiar with Popovich's greatness:
How Gregg Popovich became the NBA's most fearless political voice
Gregg Popovich: We Live In A Racist Country
Gregg Popovich: We are Rome (worthy of a full read)
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:34 PM on April 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

What's not to like about a guy who wins championships, leaves $10,000 tips on a $900 meal, routinely buys win for the kitchen staff, and spends SEVEN figures a year on food and wine? Someone who speaks up against racism and for the ones whose voice is not listened to.

He is like an ethnic grandmother recognizing that the Sunday (or whatever day) family meal is critical to family togetherness.

Oh, it helps to have Duncan, Robinson, and others too. What really happened with Leonard?
posted by AugustWest at 1:36 PM on April 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

I hate this about myself, but I would totally vote for Greg Popovich for President if he ran. I'm not proud of this, but, my God I am so hungry for anyone in the executive branch who appears to actually be thinking. The Rock, Greg Popovich, a sentient toadstool...PLEASE.
posted by scrump at 1:39 PM on April 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

scrump: "I hate this about myself, but I would totally vote for Greg Popovich for President if he ran. I'm not proud of this, but, my God I am so hungry for anyone in the executive branch who appears to actually be thinking. The Rock, Greg Popovich, a sentient toadstool...PLEASE."

There would be a lot of State Dinners if Pop were Prez.
posted by AugustWest at 1:47 PM on April 18, 2019 [8 favorites]

What really happened with Leonard?

Honestly, I don't think even Pop knows. He's probably asking himself that question.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:54 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I knew that Pop was a renaissance man from reading about the Spurs culture and how he does things differently and hearing him talk about issues other than Basketball.

Pop seems like a genuinely interesting person and has some good things to say about the world. But as a coach he's a throwback. This is someone who went to (and later coached for) the Air Force Academy. He is by all accounts a shouty, aggressive, semi-abusive coach during practice. That kind of "leadership" doesn't fly in the modern NBA (and really shouldn't be acceptable at any level). But the culture (and the winning) that he creates are what keeps the players from revolting.

I like the guy. I wouldn't say no to having dinner with him. But I would never, ever want to play for him.
posted by thecjm at 2:13 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

To prove my point about how only Pop can get away with coaching like Pop in 2019 - Bulls players tell Jim Boylen he “isn’t Gregg Popovich” Apparently only Pop is allowed to be hard on his players.
posted by thecjm at 2:15 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

My wife waited on several of Pop's dinners when he played the Grizzlies in Memphis. She said it was literally the only thing she missed about waiting tables.
posted by vibrotronica at 3:07 PM on April 18, 2019 [5 favorites]

as a coach he's a throwback. This is someone who went to (and later coached for) the Air Force Academy. He is by all accounts a shouty, aggressive, semi-abusive coach during practice. That kind of "leadership" doesn't fly in the modern NBA (and really shouldn't be acceptable at any level).

And yet... Spurs legend Gregg Popovich is the coach NBA players most want to play for. And it's not even close.
posted by maupuia at 3:41 PM on April 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

Don't forget Becky Hammon. I've hated the Spurs for my entire basketball-loving life, and I'm pretty fucking tired of white guys in positions of power overall, but I would still vote for Pop for any elected position he ever ran for in a heartbeat. That guy fucking gets it.
posted by saladin at 3:48 PM on April 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

What really happened with Leonard?

Well, I think this culture could make a major introvert somewhat miserable. But as a huge Kawhi fan/watcher, I think the answer is that he never enjoyed playing with LMA, thought LMA was going to leave and then Pop went out of his way to get LMA to stay (for which he received excessive amounts of praise of the wow, I can't believe Pop pulled that off type). At the time it felt to me like Pop was flexing because he could, disregarding the playing style and career trajectory goals of his most important player.
posted by acidic at 3:54 PM on April 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

I was hoping they'd get specific on these fabulous wines, and they did. 1990 Chateau D'Yquem.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:00 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

And yet... Spurs legend Gregg Popovich is the coach NBA players most want to play for. And it's not even close.

There are players who that style works for. Push you hard then pat you on the back and feed you afterwards. They had coaches like that before. Dads like that.

There are other people who would bounce right off that style of coaching. And not every player has loved playing for the Spurs. Parker left. Kawhi left.

Where do we draw the line? If Bobby Knight was the foremost expert on the Indiana craft beer scene outside of screaming at his players, would MeFites be cool with him all of the sudden?
posted by thecjm at 5:07 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

"this culture could make a major introvert somewhat miserable"

I don't know if this was the case with Kawhi or what, but I'm reading it and thinking "um, what if I just want to eat a couple Whoppers and go to bed?" But I have a lot of respect for Pop for being s smart guy in general.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:56 PM on April 18, 2019

He is by all accounts a shouty, aggressive, semi-abusive coach during practice. That kind of "leadership" doesn't fly in the modern NBA

That kind of generalizing is dumb in exactly the way Popovich is nuanced. Like the Bulls/Boyd relates, this kind of approach didn't develop overnight. Not from his side and not on the receiving end either. Collaboration (and that's all sport is, even at the highest level) is born out of the strengths of the relationships and clearly he has found a unique way to build just that.

It's not perfect and it's not universally heralded.

what if I just want to eat a couple Whoppers and go to bed?

FTA:

Sometimes, you just want to get a Shake Shack burger and go to the room

But leadership is a highly complex and sought after skill. It's not just a grizzled guy yelling. There's a lot to it. And it's happening in a highly competitive space. The other people in the room chose to be there and most of them would take any amount 'hard ass' coaching if they knew it would lead to success.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 7:09 PM on April 18, 2019 [5 favorites]

I mean Parker left after 17 years so it's a stretch to say he left because he hated the system.
posted by muddgirl at 7:18 PM on April 18, 2019 [9 favorites]

He is by all accounts a shouty, aggressive, semi-abusive coach during practice.

alright alright pump the brakes a bit. he's not tom thibodeau.

popovich is a throwback, yes. but in a good way. the kind of rich old white guy who started out with nothing that DISproves the rule that that group of people necessarily has to pull the drawbridge up after them. which of course just makes most of his contemporaries look that much worse in comparison, which is awesome.

also he knows wine and is a curmudgeon and is a basketball savant and i would very much like to get drunk with him. what a 100% dude.

oh and i'm a lakers fan forever. fuck the spurs.
posted by wibari at 10:09 PM on April 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

Off topic but I'd just like to say that Tim Duncan's new hair is amazing. Watch the video of him speaking at Manu's retirement thing.
posted by srboisvert at 6:36 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Hmmm, Popovich as an intense vs. abusive coach is an interesting conversation. Personally, it’d scare the hell out of me to see him angry, but when I read about other coaches in the league and some of the things they’ve done to their players I’d much prefer Popovich’s style over theirs. I don’t remember what coach it was, but I believe he was the Knicks’ coach in the early 2000’s, and he had gone out and leaked information to sports reporters about one of his star players whom he had a running feud with. This created a toxic environment, especially since it was such a highly manipulative move. Thibodeau is renowned for doing sketchy things with his players, like making 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns play nearly 50 minutes in a game before, when it’s widely expressed that making 7-foot players play a lot of minutes is correlated to them having season ending injuries, thus shortening their careers. Thibodeau does not treat his players like human beings, he treats them like property. Popovich, whose tirades may be considered “abusive” (I’m not sure I fully agree with that), appears to be much preferred and highly lauded by a significant portion of NBA players, even people who have never played for him (and word gets around the league, fast. Players talk.)

I’m not sure what happened with Kawhi Leonard, which was allegedly a disagreement between his personal doctors and the Spurs’ team doctors, and I’ve had a hard time separating the media-driven narrative and the alleged drama from reality. Kawhi is apparently a famously introverted player, but so was Aldridge when he was on the Blazers before going to the Spurs (which is exactly why Damian Lillard is the leader in Portland now, because Aldridge didn’t want to be one and didn't want any of the spotlight. Not that Dame wants the spotlight, I just think he may be more comfortable with shouldering the responsibility of “his” team.) I personally think the NBA press, and certain executives or ex-executives or team members, like to create these little narratives in order to stir up the drama for basketball obsessives such as myself. I personally don’t believe anything until a player says it. You can see players fight and talk shit on the court or afterward, I don’t need media speculation to feed me some weird “these back guys are fighting! According to one unnamed official who may or may not have ever met these guys before” story bullshit.

So anyway, I’d rattler having a screaming “abusive” coach who then coddles me afterward and treats me like a human instead of a guy like Thibs who treats me like property.
posted by gucci mane at 10:12 AM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

And yet... Spurs legend Gregg Popovich is the coach NBA players most want to play for. And it's not even close.

It's a bit unfair in that a lot of the NBA players have personal experience with Popovich as a result of his national team coaching and his longevity.

Not a lot of players have experience with anyone else on that list.

(I'm surprised Kerr isn't more liked. He seems like a mensch as well).
posted by srboisvert at 11:24 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

"I don’t remember what coach it was, but I believe he was the Knicks’ coach in the early 2000’s, and he had gone out and leaked information to sports reporters about one of his star players whom he had a running feud with"

Or, as Knicks fans call it, just another day.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:37 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also, LeBron for president.
posted by gucci mane at 1:38 PM on April 19, 2019

(I'm surprised Kerr isn't more liked. He seems like a mensch as well).

He is, and he reveres Pop. I don't think Kerr would support another coach if he were abusive, and Kerr would know having played under Popovich.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:40 AM on April 22, 2019

(I'm surprised Kerr isn't more liked. He seems like a mensch as well).

Well, he won his titles by (very arguably) riding the coat-tails of much better players (Jordan and Pippen in Chicago and then Duncan and Robinson in San Antonio) and coasted to 4 straight NBA Finals appearances after taking over a 51 win team.

I am a warriors fan from way back, i really like the guy a ton, but i DO understand why some folks arent falling over themselves to sing his praises.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:46 AM on April 22, 2019