"Gregg Popovich will lead the team he was left off of four decades ago" - ESPN [Archive]

GSH

08-22-2016, 11:58 AM

dabom

08-22-2016, 12:11 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

He is protesting. Do you know how Shit would be if everyone just did what people told them to do and shut up. Stupid fuck. :lmao

bklynspursfan

08-22-2016, 12:28 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

C'mon, you can't generalize him being a dick due to the handful of 15 second interviews he does a year. Especially considering all the other stuff he does with/for his teams and their families. Many times he's just having fun with those reporters, and they've shown him sometimes give them a thumbs afterwards for being good sports.

Wouldn't be surprised if the networks like ESPN/TNT encourage that now because it's a big deal to viewers and there's lots of anticipation

dabom

08-22-2016, 12:56 PM

Pop said he dropped the lure for idiots. :lol

It's even in the article. :lol

Knowingly taking the bait. :lol

houston spurs fan

08-22-2016, 01:28 PM

Great article...First the Manu piece, then this. Props ESPN.com

Dre_7

08-22-2016, 01:28 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

When did you play for Pop??

Because his players and former players seem to think he isn't a dick. But hey, what would they know?

As for the media, he answers the questions that are asked. A lot of times he gives good long thought out answers, especially when he gets asked a good question.

PÒÓCH

08-22-2016, 02:15 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

His job is to win not to give you redundant sound bites to the media. I love his "dickness" because the media is like the comments on forums. Full of dipshits and ass wipes just looking for any type of comment to over react to.

SAGirl

08-22-2016, 02:28 PM

Very nice article!
thanks for sharing it. It's always so interesting to read about Pop's early days, so much insight. :toast

SAGirl

08-22-2016, 02:48 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

I got to think that is his personality (the worst part of his personality, since the candid, caring part is not going to show in that setting). I agree with you, he's come off as a dick way too many times, in a professional setting.

SAGirl

08-22-2016, 02:52 PM

When did you play for Pop??

Because his players and former players seem to think he isn't a dick. But hey, what would they know?

As for the media, he answers the questions that are asked. A lot of times he gives good long thought out answers, especially when he gets asked a good question.

He gets grumpy with good questions that he doesn't want to answer too. In fact he gets grumpy with anything he doesn't want to answer in general.

Bud had this to say in that same article:

Budenholzer says "He'd say, 'Bud, stop, I'm sick of hearing it.' People ask me all the time, 'Is he really that grumpy?' I tell them, 'Yes, but he's also that incredibly nice.' It's real and it's genuine. He's all about the truth.''

He really is that grumpy privately at times apparently, he just balances it by being a very caring, honestly caring person. But excusing his shtick with the media is homerism TBH.

dabom

08-22-2016, 03:00 PM

Girls getting upset because that one slut was about to cry. :lmao

Dre_7

08-22-2016, 03:30 PM

He really is that grumpy privately at times apparently, he just balances it by being a very caring, honestly caring person. But excusing his shtick with the media is homerism TBH.

The media loves his shtick. I feel like part of it is him living up to the his character. But the media love it. They hype up his in game interviews. Say things like "don't go anywhere, Reggie will be conducting the interview with Pop at the end of the quarter. Whats the over under on how many words he says?" They love it. They don't do it for other coaches. If he was all of a sudden nice and happy I think the media would wish for him go back to the good sound bites and video clips. The media get paid to do what they do, they can handle it. They are big boys and girls.

Being grumpy does not make someone a dick. Look at all the love he gets from those that have played and worked for him.

DAF86

08-22-2016, 03:34 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

Pop understands that better than anyone, that's why he gives the most entertaining interviews in the NBA. Do you seriously think the network's bosses don't love Pop's interviewing antics? That's some top class television, son.

SquawkinHawkBigCock

08-22-2016, 03:53 PM

Pop understands that better than anyone, that's why he gives the most entertaining interviews in the NBA. Do you seriously think the network's bosses don't love Pop's interviewing antics? That's some top class television, son.
His bit comes off a cringeworthy an dickish when it doesn't hit though, tbh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgWuOhWTdw

bklynspursfan

08-22-2016, 03:59 PM

The media loves his shtick. I feel like part of it is him living up to the his character. But the media love it. They hype up his in game interviews. Say things like "don't go anywhere, Reggie will be conducting the interview with Pop at the end of the quarter. Whats the over under on how many words he says?" They love it. They don't do it for other coaches. If he was all of a sudden nice and happy I think the media would wish for him go back to the good sound bites and video clips. The media get paid to do what they do, they can handle it. They are big boys and girls.

Being grumpy does not make someone a dick. Look at all the love he gets from those that have played and worked for him.

Exactly... I said the same, the networks probably encourage it. Gives an extra reasons for viewers to stay engaged and tuned in.

Players/other coaches love him.

DAF86

08-22-2016, 04:01 PM

His bit comes off a cringeworthy an dickish when it doesn't hit though, tbh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgWuOhWTdw

Still "must watch", tbh.

GSH

08-22-2016, 04:11 PM

C'mon, you can't generalize him being a dick due to the handful of 15 second interviews he does a year. Especially considering all the other stuff he does with/for his teams and their families. Many times he's just having fun with those reporters, and they've shown him sometimes give them a thumbs afterwards for being good sports.

Wouldn't be surprised if the networks like ESPN/TNT encourage that now because it's a big deal to viewers and there's lots of anticipation

Oh, c'mon. They do pre-game, halftime, and post-game interviews every single game.

I agree, though, that the networks have figured out how to make lemonade out of his sour ass. It wasn't always that way. But I guess some of you are right - they have turned it into entertainment after all.

His job is to win not to give you redundant sound bites to the media. I love his "dickness" because the media is like the comments on forums. Full of dipshits and ass wipes just looking for any type of comment to over react to.

I forget at times that there are a lot of people who actually enjoy things like Jerry Springer. (If there weren't, there wouldn't be any shows like that.) I tend to turn the channel, or turn off the TV. But I think your comment pretty much explains it all. You "love his dickness". Without Pop, the people who really love dicks would be left out.

GSH

08-22-2016, 04:18 PM

Still "must watch", tbh.

You know, when he smiles and jokes around, he's a great guy. When he actually gives basketball answers, he's a great interview. I've seen him just humiliate reporters that whose questions weren't all that bad. Especially in post-game interviews, after the Spurs lost. He's not their boss, and it's not the anonymous internet where people talk like that all the time. The interviews are part of the job, and those people are sent there to do a job, and try to gather enough words to write a story for basketball fans - most of the time Spurs fans. If they had his level of basketball sophistication, they would be coaches instead of reporters. And a lot of the time, there's not a single sentence in his post-game that those people can write up for the fans to read. Well... not unless they want to write an article about Pop being a dick.

Like I said before, though, I forget that there are just a lot of people who love dicks.

DAF86

08-22-2016, 04:27 PM

You know, when he smiles and jokes around, he's a great guy. When he actually gives basketball answers, he's a great interview. I've seen him just humiliate reporters that whose questions weren't all that bad. Especially in post-game interviews, after the Spurs lost. He's not their boss, and it's not the anonymous internet where people talk like that all the time. The interviews are part of the job, and those people are sent there to do a job, and try to gather enough words to write a story for basketball fans - most of the time Spurs fans. If they had his level of basketball sophistication, they would be coaches instead of reporters. And a lot of the time, there's not a single sentence in his post-game that those people can write up for the fans to read. Well... not unless they want to write an article about Pop being a dick.

Like I said before, though, I forget that there are just a lot of people who love dicks.

If you want to call what Pop does "being a dick", be my guess. I might even agree with that. But don't pull the "entertaining" card. What he does is usually more entertaining than all the generic sports answers out there: "yeah, well... Umhh... We have to play better on defense... Umh... We aren't playing with enough effort...umh... We'll try to do that in this last quarter."

Fuck that shit. Give me Pop's monosyllabic's answers before that shit. Besides, it's not like everyone isn't on the joke by now, tbh.

UZER

08-22-2016, 04:36 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

I agree with everything in this post except the in-game interviews. Everything else is spot on.

Proxy

08-22-2016, 05:43 PM

Pop is still a dick. It was a good article, and it may show some reasons why he's a dick, or that he balances his dick-ness by doing some nice things. But he's still a dick.

Basketball is a sport, but the NBA is an entertainment business. The "best coach in the NBA" should understand that, and be prepared to offer some reasonable comments in interviews. I know some of the questions are stupid, but that goes with the job. He should exhibit the same level of professionalism that he expects from his players and just suck it up and give a professional answer. Anyone can have a bad day, but Pop is a dick almost 100% of the time, and to people who don't deserve it. We all have to do certain shit in our jobs that we don't like - in the NBA, interviews are part of the job. And maybe he could try to remember that those commentators have a job to do too. Pissing on somebody on national TV for no reason is just a dick move.

Pop pissing on them is entertaining, the other coaches are boring.

dabom

08-22-2016, 05:53 PM

I've never seen a poster get shit on by everyone from every fucking perspective. GSH :lmao

coachmac87

08-23-2016, 12:14 AM

His bit comes off a cringeworthy an dickish when it doesn't hit though, tbh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgWuOhWTdw

That's on the reporter. Obviously Pop doesn't have a relationship with this guy and you can clearly see the awkwardness in his face. Once the reporter knew he fucked up he was shook and Pop noticed and felt sorry for him and played it off.

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 12:18 AM

His bit comes off a cringeworthy an dickish when it doesn't hit though, tbh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgWuOhWTdw
Yeah I love Pop but he can be a straight up dick at times and he's known to be a grump. He makes,fun of himself calling it being Serbian. Really his sense of humor and the fact in reality he's a caring person softens his troll game. If we want to call it trolling reporters.

skulls138

08-23-2016, 12:28 AM

Yeah I love Pop but he can be a straight up dick at times and he's known to be a grump. He makes,fun of himself calling it being Serbian. Really his sense of humor and the fact in reality he's a caring person softens his troll game. If we want to call it trolling reporters.Thats what I love about him. He doesnt wanna and he doesnt hafta. If people dont like it...sounds like a personal problem.

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 12:36 AM

Thats what I love about him. He doesnt wanna and he doesnt hafta. If people dont like it...sounds like a personal problem.
I know how he is, but to say he's not a grump is homerism. It just is, but call it potato, potato. Some ppl like asshole personality I guess. I like all the times he's given candid interviews. He can be charming when he wants.

BillMc

08-23-2016, 02:18 AM

His bit comes off a cringeworthy an dickish when it doesn't hit though, tbh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgWuOhWTdw

I thought this was immensely entertaining both when Pop was being an ass and when he revealed it was all just a game.

cutewizard

08-23-2016, 05:11 AM

Will you be seduced into my parlor, says Pop to the reporters, hahahaha

FromWayDowntown

08-23-2016, 11:12 AM

I find Pop to be refreshing when it comes to coaching interviews. He despises stupid questions -- and rightfully so. He refuses to disclose strategies or to discuss them at any length -- and rightfully so. He refuses to aggrandize himself. But when he's asked a good question that doesn't force him to disclose his trade secrets or to talk about himself, he's eloquent and generally effusive. He's shown repeatedly that he will engage a reporter who asks a thoughtful question and when he goes there, his answers are substantially better than anyone else's, because they aren't laced with cliches and empty rhetoric.

I've never understood the scorn that Pop gets for his approach to the media, mostly because I prefer the substance I get from any Popovich encounter with a good reporter to the fluff I get from other coaches trying to answer stupid or unanswerable questions.

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 11:22 AM

He's very arrogant. Other coaches find polite ways to not disclose strategies or evade questions, etc. He's got a troll game going. If he wasn't a 5 time champion he wouldn't get away with the troll game. He's also been coaching for 20 or more? Seasons, he's a character at this point as others pointed out which allows him to get away with that stuff. That said the trolling and dry humor can be endearing to fans who have seen him for so many seasons now. If this was coach K, Doc Rivers or any other coach they'd be call assholes.

ginobilized

08-23-2016, 05:37 PM

Pop is Pop 24/7
That is reassuring on some level. Great article!

skulls138

08-23-2016, 07:37 PM

I know how he is, but to say he's not a grump is homerism. It just is, but call it potato, potato. Some ppl like asshole personality I guess. I like all the times he's given candid interviews. He can be charming when he wants.My POV and what I think Pops POV is is that these interviews are ridiculous and are becoming more and more intrusive. Used to be just at the end of the game, now its half time, during the game, cameras up the players noses (especially when they f'd up trying to catch a glimmer of self doubt), in the huddle. And does it really add anything? Not really, so many times its obvious, "we need more defense", "we need to rebound". Yeah I know theyre millionaires playing a game but I dont think any of the players or coaches want to do it and these players and coaches give us the entertainment we benefit from. Im players and coaches over TV stations and owners anytime.

GSH

08-23-2016, 11:16 PM

My POV and what I think Pops POV is is that these interviews are ridiculous and are becoming more and more intrusive. Used to be just at the end of the game, now its half time, during the game, cameras up the players noses (especially when they f'd up trying to catch a glimmer of self doubt), in the huddle. And does it really add anything? Not really, so many times its obvious, "we need more defense", "we need to rebound". Yeah I know theyre millionaires playing a game but I dont think any of the players or coaches want to do it and these players and coaches give us the entertainment we benefit from. Im players and coaches over TV stations and owners anytime.

You're right about that. But the league (and the owners) are responsible for that. Pop should take it up with them, instead of pissing on reporters.

I haven't read all the commentary on this thread. I think Pop goes too far, and a lot of people don't. There's no way to reconcile the two views, so why bother? I just popped in to post this article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/20/lebron-james-gregg-popovich-2020-tokyo-olympics-usa-basketball/89043016/

If you want the short version of the article, it's that LeBron is talking about playing in the next Olympics, just for the opportunity to play for Pop. Personally, I've always wondered how Pop and LeBron would get along. Two really strong personalities, and LeBron has always seemed to think he was bigger than his coaches. It would be interesting to see if he would do what Pop told him, even when he disagreed. One thing is for certain. Even if Pop is an asshole to reporters, there's no denying the respect he gets from players.

What a lot of you don't seem to leave room for, is that the two things aren't mutually exclusive. He can be a coach that players love and respect, and still be a dick to reporters. What's funny is that a lot of people here scream about him not being a good coach, but defend his asshole interviews. I don't like the way he does a lot of interviews, but I still think he's one of the best to ever coach.

CGD

08-27-2016, 12:04 PM

Great read, thx for posting

TrainOfThought5

08-27-2016, 12:12 PM