Popovich retires from the San Antonio Spurs after 29 seasons

Popovich retires from the San Antonio Spurs

Popovich retired from the San Antonio Spurs on Friday after 29 seasons. He began his tenure on Dec. 10, 1996, when he replaced Bob Hill. Popovich coached the San Antonio Spurs for 29 seasons, a tenure that included five NBA championships and 22 consecutive playoff seasons between 1998 and 2019, and he holds the record for most wins in NBA history. He coached six Hall of Famers, including Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, and Dominique Wilkins. His official record is 1,390-824. This total excludes the 77 games Mitch Johnson coached after Popovich suffered a stroke at the team’s arena on Nov. 2. Johnson went 32-45 during that stretch. Popovich remains the Spurs president. I find the decision to credit Johnson with those wins quite questionable. He coached 170 different NBA coaches during his career. He took command of the roster when they were 3-15 and playing without David Robinson. He led the U.S. team to a gold medal in Tokyo after coaching the 2019 World Cup team. He is 76 years old. He remains 53 wins ahead of Don Nelson’s 1,335 victories. His winning percentage of .628 ranks 7th in NBA history among coaches with 400 or more games. He previously coached at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Becky Hammon leads the Las Vegas Aces

Becky Hammon leads the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals. The Aces hold a 3-0 lead over the Phoenix Mercury. A’ja Wilson scored 34 points and 14 rebounds in the 90-88 win on Wednesday. The game was tied at 88 with 5 seconds left before Wilson hit a turnaround jumper. The Aces held a 76-59 lead in the fourth quarter. Wilson is a four-time MVP with 291 postseason points through 11 games. This victory followed a 107-98 overtime win against the Indiana Fever in the semifinals. The Aces earned the No. 2 seed with a 30-14 record. They dropped a game to Seattle in the opening round. Hammon is in her 16th WNBA season. She previously served as the first full-time female assistant coach on an NBA staff. She earned a championship as the first female head summer league coach in the NBA. You might recall her working alongside Popovich in 2020. DeWanna Bonner led the Mercury with 25 points. Alyssa Thomas finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Satou Sabally suffered a concussion late in the game. The WNBA is using its first best-of-seven Finals format this year. The Mercury coach, Nate Tibbetts, expects his team to compete at a high level.

The changing coaching landscape

The coaching landscape changed when Popovich hired Hammon. He looked for talent and basketball IQ instead of gender. Hammon is the all-time leader for the San Antonio Stars in assists with 1,112. She also holds the franchise record for 3-point field goals with 493. Hamman ranks 7th in WNBA points with 5,809 and 4th in assists with 1,687. She played 445 WNBA games. The NFL enforces the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for coaching and executive roles. This policy was established in 2003 and named after Dan Rooney. It was a reaction to the 2002 firings of Tony Dungy and Dennis Green. It mandates at least one minority on every offensive coaching staff. The West Coast Conference also adopted the Russell Rule. This policy requires member institutions to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for head coach and assistant positions. How will the Spurs rebuild around Victor Wembanyama?