Spurs head coach Greg Popovich made history on March 11, 2022, registering his 1,336th win to pass the great Don Nelson as the most winning coach in NBA history.
Popovich's all-time leading win is a testament to how productive he has been at the helm of San Antonio, seeing success in his 26-year tenure at various NBA eras, winning championships with multiple stars and developing a lot of talent. The way
For every established star he coached, Popovich has even elevated lesser-publicity players to come into the NBA like 2022 All-Star DeJonte Murray.
The all-time winningest coach in NBA history.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 12, 2022
Congrats on No. 1336, Coach Pop! pic.twitter.com/RbuZxrkEWp
Player development aside, another area where Popovich really differentiates himself from some of the other greatest head coaches in NBA history has turned the Spurs coaching staff into a hotbed of hype around the league.
In the NBA today, six of the league's other 29 head coaches have previously come through Popovich's coaching staff—and that's without counting anyone like Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who played under Popovich, the USA. Filled his place in the form of basketball. head coach and considers him a mentor.
The way Popovich achieved so much greatness in San Antonio has built his own culture in the NBA - "The Spurs Way."
It's a way to win that goes beyond X and O, valuing team basketball over individual success. This became a strategy building block for all franchises in smaller markets such as San Antonio, which typically do not attract the biggest names in the league to free agency.
However, "The Spurs Way" puts more pressure on prospects in the NBA Draft, with teams such as the Spurs landing Tim Duncan or the Milwaukee Bucks selecting Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer made his debut in San Antonio in 1994, when Popovich – the Spurs general manager at the time – hired him as a video coordinator at the age of 25. Budenholzer was in that role for two years before being promoted to an assistant. Coaches under head coach Popovich.
Budenholzer won four NBA titles with the Spurs as an assistant under Popovich, then took his first head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks following San Antonio's loss to the Miami Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals. There, Budenholzer, seeing immediate success, replaced the Hawks at the former Spurs.
Then there are the two younger head coaches who learned under Popovich under Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego and Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.
Borrego was an assistant under Popovich from 2003 to 2010 and then again from 2015 to 2018 before leaving for the head coaching position of Charlotte. Udoka's path was a bit different, playing as a member of Spurs from 2007 to 2009 under Popovich and as an assistant during the 2010–11 season from 2013 to 2019 before jumping on the coaching staff.
Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder and Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins also have ties to Popovich's coaching tree, who ranks through the Spurs' G League team. Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has a similar path as Kerr, learning under Popovich for two seasons as a player.
The roots of Popovich's coaching tree are also spreading to the WNBA, where Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, who has been on the staff since 2014, was recently appointed as head coach of the Las Vegas Aces.
Others such as Brett Brown, Jim Boylen, Mike Brown, Jack Vaughan and Joe Prunty, each of whom worked in various roles ranging from head coaching to long-time assistant coaching jobs, came under Popovich.
While his standing as the most winning coach of all time will forever remind us of Popovich's influence on the NBA, his extensive coaching tree will keep his fingerprints on the NBA for years and years to come.