Popovich is the best NBA coach of all time.

[BadMotorscooter]

Is there even a debate? Phil Jackon had Jordan, Pippen, Shaq and Kobe...he got to work in the 2nd and 3rd biggest markets in the world(LA & Chicago). Red got to coach Bill Russell in a league that only featured 8 teams at the time. Had he coached today...he'd be lucky to win 1 title as coach. That leaves us with Popovich...he constantly has to reinvent himself because all of our players come from the draft...from David Robinson....all the way to Leonard. Popovich doesnt skip a beat. No way any other coach can do that....

[Steve-O-Matic]

Yes, there's plenty of debate. Phil and Red had great players but Pop has too. You're making it sound like he's won NBA championships with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster.

[BadMotorscooter]

Steve-Pop has had to work with draft picks his whole career....people seem to forget that...Robinson, Anderson,Manu, Duncan, Parker, Jackson...the list goes on and on...actually the only player that they Spurs got in free agency that helped us big time was Bruce Bowen and Horry...thats it....Boston and LA...cant say the same.....Pop is a bad man...

[Cry Havoc]

Pop has definitely ascended into the pantheon of NBA coaches. He's on the Mount Rushmore along with Red, Phil, and Pat.

[dunkman]

Phil has to considered the best. MJ, Pippen, Shaq, Kobe and Gasol were in the league before Phil and they couldn't win it all. When Phil arrived, he got them 3 threepeats and 1 back to back. Pop is great, but not yet at that level. That's 11 championships.

Red was the first coach to notice that defense wins championships. He also invented the sixth man concept. He was an innovator and arguments could be made he was more important than Pop. He also had 9 rings if I recall right.

I would rank Pop right there with Riles (5 'ships as HC), perhaps higher because he's more consistent, and the showtime already won a championship before Pat got promoted to the head coach position.

[tesseractive]

Red was an innovator, but you could also make the case that he was slightly overrated as a coach simply because he was such a good GM. But the emphasis there would be on the "slightly" -- he was still a great coach.

Popovich and Phil are a study in contrasts. Phil was a lousy teaching coach or developer of talent -- he was at his best with guys who had plenty of talent but didn't know how to win titles together -- teaching them to sublimate their individual egos to the needs of the team. Pop on the other hand has had one of the all time greats, but otherwise has been most skilled at taking role players who are willing to do the work and be part of a team and developing their talents into something greater than the sum of the individual players -- sometimes with guys who might not even have stuck in the league if they hadn't had Pop and his staff to help them improve as players.

Phil has far more rings, but he also had cherry-picked situations with levels of talent most coaches can only dream of. That said -- Phil (and maybe Pat Riley) are the only coaches who could have turned that sort of mess of clashing egos into a team that won repeat titles, so kudos to Phil.

I call it Phil, Red, Riley, Pop -- until/unless Pop wins a title without Duncan, anyway.

[therealtruth]

Pop on the other hand has had one of the all time greats, but otherwise has been most skilled at taking role players who are willing to do the work and be part of a team and developing their talents into something greater than the sum of the individual players -- sometimes with guys who might not even have stuck in the league if they hadn't had Pop and his staff to help them improve as players.


So what about the work PJ did with guys like Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler? They weren't the most talented but PJ was able to make them key contributers.

Kerr couldn't get minutes with Pop but was a key contributer with the Bulls. His outside shooting would have probably helped when the Spurs were getting owned by the Lakers in '01 and '02. In fact the only reason Pop played Kerr in '03 was due to injury and it ended up helping them get past the Mavs.

[ElNono]

No

[tesseractive]

So what about the work PJ did with guys like Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler? They weren't the most talented but PJ was able to make them key contributers.

Kerr couldn't get minutes with Pop but was a key contributer with the Bulls. His outside shooting would have probably helped when the Spurs were getting owned by the Lakers in '01 and '02. In fact the only reason Pop played Kerr in '03 was due to injury and it ended up helping them get past the Mavs.

I may have overstated my case -- I don't mean to say that Jackson didn't do any teaching type coaching. But guys building new facets of their game definitely wasn't something he was notable for. By contrast, I think a significant part of our success with obscure role players isn't just our front-office's widely-renowned ability to find diamonds in the rough, but our coaching staffs ability to turn guys with limited tools and the right mindset into genuine assets by extending their game with methodical work and attention to detail.

As far as Kerr goes, he was an amazing shooter and the right kind of passer to be effective in a triangle attack that didn't require a traditional point (see also: Derek Fisher), but he was a truly terrible fit for Pop's defense and not the best guy to deliver the entry pass in the post, much less run the occasional pick and roll.

[therealtruth]

As far as Kerr goes, he was an amazing shooter and the right kind of passer to be effective in a triangle attack that didn't require a traditional point (see also: Derek Fisher), but he was a truly terrible fit for Pop's defense and not the best guy to deliver the entry pass in the post, much less run the occasional pick and roll.

I think that shows Pop values system above players where PJ was able to fit players into his system and take advantage of their abilities.

[tesseractive]

I think that shows Pop values system above players where PJ was able to fit players into his system and take advantage of their abilities.

Except that Pop just completely switched up some of the most fundamental tenets of his system over the last couple of years to become more offense driven, run the break more, attack in the early part of the clock even in the half-court, gamble more on steals to create fast-break opportunities, etc.

Why? Because the changes to the system system fit his personnel better.

For role players, clearly Pop is looking for specific things, because he's building the system around his best players' strengths. But I'd be surprised if the same wasn't true of Phil.

[san antonio spurs]

best coach of all time time is still a matter of opinion. Any GOAT discussion is a matter of opinion tbh...no matter how much consensus you seem to get.

[Galileo]

Since 1990, the Spurs have had only ONE lottery pick.

[GhosTown]

For years I always considered Pop to be the best coach ever. If not for the Manu foul in '06 the Spurs may have 3 peat.

But then last year happened. I never saw Pop coach so poorly when it mattered. I am one of the few who still believe we should have beaten the Grizz even with an injured Manu.

In what world can Blair/Bonner defend Zebo/Gasol??? Surely not in the real world, I can't imagine any good coach watching film then coming up with this strategy.

So unless Pop sweeps OKC and beats the Heat this year, his legacy will always be stained with being upset by an 8 seed.

[sananspursfan21]

I would agree with top 5 or top 4, outside of phil red and pat, it would be wrong to say there are better than popovich

[tesseractive]

For years I always considered Pop to be the best coach ever. If not for the Manu foul in '06 the Spurs may have 3 peat.

But then last year happened. I never saw Pop coach so poorly when it mattered. I am one of the few who still believe we should have beaten the Grizz even with an injured Manu.

In what world can Blair/Bonner defend Zebo/Gasol??? Surely not in the real world, I can't imagine any good coach watching film then coming up with this strategy.

So unless Pop sweeps OKC and beats the Heat this year, his legacy will always be stained with being upset by an 8 seed.

I know I'll always be wondering why didn't send David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon out there to defend them. I mean, they were right there sitting on his bench. :rolleyes

[Wild Cobra Kai]

I know I'll always be wondering why didn't send David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon out there to defend them. I mean, they were right there sitting on his bench. :rolleyes

No shit. He's got better players this year, and they're playing. Last year's timid, sucky Splitter doesn't make the difference.

[ambchang]

Chuck Daly - For better or worse, he changed the entire philosophy of how a championship team is constructed.

[FromWayDowntown]

Half of this board thought Popovich was a complete moron about 3-4 months ago.

[OZWIN]

best coach of all time time is still a matter of opinion. Any GOAT discussion is a matter of opinion tbh...no matter how much consensus you seem to get./thread

Especially on a "San Antonio Spurs" forum...Pop will get much more love than say just a regular NBA forum on the web.

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

If Popovich had been coaching the 1990 Bulls and 2000s Lakers, I wonder if he would have 12 or 13 championship rings by now.

[greyforest]

Since 1990, the Spurs have had only ONE lottery pick.

and a hell of a ONE at that

[NO LIMIT ARMY COMMANDER]

Half of this board thought Popovich was a complete moron about 3-4 months ago.

[LakerLanny]

He would have to win another 6 rings to even be in the discussion.

Zen Master is the undisputed best coach in NBA history, it isn't even debatable.

[therealtruth]

If Popovich had been coaching the 1990 Bulls and 2000s Lakers, I wonder if he would have 12 or 13 championship rings by now.

I doubt it. It's hard to win that many when you can't repeat.

[Kidd K]

Yes, there's plenty of debate. Phil and Red had great players but Pop has too. You're making it sound like he's won NBA championships with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster.

3 titles with 28th and later draft picks and his only high draft pick being a slowed down Duncan with a blown out knee is extremely impressive.

Those other coaches didn't have to build around one hobbled player with late draft picks, no free agents, and monetary limitations.

Riley practically stepped right into a super team in LA with Kareem and Magic, and later got Shaq through a lopsided bailout trade in Miami. Not to mention tons of great free agents joined immediately after so he never actually had to build that team up (which is why Miami is so hated right now. It was put together in a single offseason, not overtime. Just like the last Heat team was).

Jackson stepped into the Bulls after Jordan was already in his prime and they just drafted Pippen, a great young player with an excellent upside. They also just got Horace Grant, then signed multiple good free agents along the way, and also got a lopsided bailout trade in getting Rodman from SA. Then later steps into another situation, in a team that already has a budding superstar in Kobe, and gets Shaq, the best bigman in the NBA through free agency. What next? Tons of free agents flock to LA to play with Shaq and Kobe to ring grab. Later, he is the beneficiary of another lopsided trade with heavy cash considerations in getting Gasol. They also have functioned WELL above the salary cap, with the highest salary in the NBA for years.


Popovich, on the other hand: Makes the best of a terrible injury-plagued season and just says fuck it and tanks to try and get Duncan, which pays off big. They win a title in 2 years, then his core slowly ages out, so he's forced to retool on the fly with extremely late round draft picks and somehow manages to do it (proper respect to RC Buford in being a huge help to get there too) with guys every other team in the NBA passed on at least once of them to fall all the way down to us in the draft. With the exception of an old and busted up DRob in 2003, the entire team for 2003, 2005, and 2007 titles were all dudes we got through the draft or were free agent scrubs nobody wanted, not free agent assets like those other coaches in large, favorable markets were beneficiaries of.

Pop's run is more impressive because it's been a hell of a lot harder to do. When I look at Jackson and Riley, there are so many things they were beneficiaries of that helped them out tremendously. Teams already in place, free agents joining due to location, money being a non issue in every situation both coaches have been in, etc. Pop and RC Buford have had to do it the hard way. What's going on in Miami right now for example, is what the "easy way" is. If Spoelstra wins a title, I won't consider him a good coach for getting one. If he wins two, I still won't consider him to be a good coach. His situation is insanely favorable to him. Give Pop LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, and there's no way they're losing. Give him Shaq, Kobe, and a host of free agents and he isn't losing. Give him Jordan, MJ, and Grant/Rodman, and he's winning too. Give him Magic/Kareem/Worth, and again, he's getting titles.

I don't see Jackson winning with Duncan and that's it. He's a hands-off coach who lets the talent do most of the work. Pop micromanages to make sure he gets the best out of what little talent he has. Pop with tons of talent would crush the league dude.


I'm not saying Jackson and Riley aren't good coaches. . .but I think claiming they're better than Pop just because they have more titles is ridiuculous. Their situations have been so favorable it isn't funny. Jackson in particular imo is incredibly overrated. Riley is legit to me despite his "fortune", but Jackson? Worse than both easily.

The Mount Rushmore of coaches starts with either Pop, Riley, or Auerbach. Jackson is the 4th wheel who's chiseled in after the fact and not as good as the first three.

[tesseractive]

If Popovich had been coaching the 1990 Bulls and 2000s Lakers, I wonder if he would have 12 or 13 championship rings by now.

If Pop had been coaching Shaq and Kobe, he would have retired and he'd be sitting on a patio drinking his wine right now. They would have driven him nuts.

On the other hand if he'd had the ability to surround Tim Duncan with talent the way Auerbach did with Russell (no salary cap, etc.), he'd be pushing Auerbach and Tim would be pushing Russell in the all-time lists.

[BadMotorscooter]

I would love to see Phil jackson try and survive through 10+ years with the draft supplying your talent on the majority like Pop has. Pop has had to go Robinson, Sean, Duncan, Parker, Manu, Jackson, Anderson, Splitter, Leonard, Blair,....ect....over the years. Phil Jackson is a great coach but no way he wins the titles he has having to try and win and develop through the draft...he's not that type of coach.