The Spurs’ secret weapon this postseason? A former coach offering pearls of wisdom - BERITAJA

The San Antonio Spurs had conscionable mislaid Game 3 of the Western Conference finals successful demoralizing fashion. Oklahoma City had beaten them by 15 points connected the Spurs’ location tribunal to return a 2-1 bid lead, and San Antonio decided to person a closed-door gathering instantly pursuing the game.

This wasn’t conscionable immoderate squad meeting, though. In the locker room were beforehand agency personnel, trainers, various unit — group who wouldn’t usually beryllium successful location postgame.

“We closed the doors. ‘We don’t fto anybody cognize what’s going connected successful here,’ Spurs defender De’Aaron Fox later recalled connected a Peacock broadcast, evidently breaking the meeting’s 1 rule. Moments later, the doorway opened. “We spot Pop travel in, and it’s like, ‘ahhhh,’ ” Fox said, raising his sound successful excitement.

Gregg Popovich, the erstwhile Spurs caput coach, wanted to convey a connection to the team. “That’s BS. That’s not really we play basketball,” he said, according to Fox.

The Spurs came backmost to hit the Thunder successful 7 games and make the NBA Finals, their first quality since 2014. Not galore group expected them to beryllium here, successful ample portion because they person specified a young team, centered about Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, each of whom are successful their early 20s. Their caput coach, Mitch Johnson, is 39 years old, too, and successful only his first afloat play astatine the helm.

But San Antonio’s concealed limb this postseason mightiness beryllium Popovich, its erstwhile coach who has offered words of contented astatine each captious juncture. He whitethorn not beryllium connected the chair but he is very overmuch progressive connected the periphery. He hangs about the believe facility, sits successful connected movie sessions and gives the players pointers, possibly successful a quiet speech to the broadside of the tribunal aliases via matter connection aft the game. Or he mightiness present his messages successful a much forceful way, for illustration successful that closed-door gathering successful the Western Conference finals.

“When he speaks, everybody listens,” Wembanyama said recently.

That’s because Popovich is considered 1 of the champion coaches successful NBA history. Over 16 seasons, from 1998 to 2014, he led the Spurs to 5 titles and nurtured Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker. He was known for his attraction to detail, his Air Force background, his “Pounding the Rock” mantra, coaching the stars arsenic difficult arsenic the scrubs and his expertise to link pinch players connected and disconnected the court.

Popovich was still coaching astatine 75 years aged erstwhile he suffered a changeable successful November 2024, a fewer games into the season. Johnson, 1 of Popovich’s assistants, stepped successful arsenic interim coach. When Johnson was elevated to the full-time occupation successful May 2025, the Spurs held a property convention and Popovich made 1 of his first nationalist appearances since the stroke.

Popovich moved gingerly and was helped to the lectern by Duncan and Ginóbili. The 2 of them had been accompanying him to his rehab appointments, too, and Popovich cracked that they had been giving “the rehab group caller ideas of things to do to me.” He was “getting amended by the day,” he added. “But it’s not bully capable for what we scheme ahead,” and that’s why he was stepping speech for Johnson to return over.

Even then, Popovich recognized the imaginable of the Spurs’ young core. “We’ve sewage immoderate young players who are going to extremity up being really awesome players,” he said. “… And Mitch Johnson will beryllium the feline that forges their futures. And I’ll do everything I could to thief him and thief them.”

Popovich said he had a caller job, anyway. He removed his jacket, pinch immoderate help, to uncover a T-shirt underneath. “I’m nary longer coach,” he said. “I’m El Jefe” — which translates to “The Boss” successful Spanish.

Over the past year, Popovich has lived up to that title. He attends practices and shootarounds and makes himself disposable for questions — aliases offers unsolicited advice. “It could beryllium thing arsenic mini arsenic boxing personification retired connected a free throw,” Fox said, “or 1 other walk that happened astatine this constituent of the crippled that could person changed the game.”

This season, the Spurs exceeded everyone’s expectations. After six consecutive losing seasons, they went 62-20, earned the No. 2 seed successful the Western Conference, and announced themselves arsenic up of schedule. The only lingering mobility entering the playoffs was: How acold could they spell pinch truthful small playoff experience?

At respective cardinal moments this postseason, Popovich has offered proposal to thief usher this young squad along. Typically, they person responded and risen to the occasion.

In the 2nd round, the Spurs mislaid Game 4 successful Minnesota, during which Wembanyama was ejected for throwing an elbow adjacent the caput of a Timberwolves player. Afterward, the Spurs flew backmost to San Antonio — and Popovich met Wembanyama astatine the airport. “He possibly wanted to make a connection aliases make his talking moreover much impactful by being there,” Wembanyama said. The guardant kept his composure arsenic the Spurs won the series.

In the Western Conference finals, aft the Spurs mislaid Game 5 to the Thunder, Popovich sent a matter connection to Harper. The young defender had only scored 5 points successful the loss. “You’ve sewage to find a measurement to get the occupation done,” it read, according to Harper. He scored 30 points complete the adjacent 2 games and helped San Antonio adjacent retired the series.

Now successful the NBA Finals, San Antonio’s young halfway is facing different intelligence hurdle: They mislaid the first 2 games of the series, astatine home, to the New York Knicks. In Game 1, Wembanyama had a peculiarly mediocre shooting nighttime and Popovich sent him a matter afterward. “In the large lines, it was that I’ve been bad and I’m amended than this,” Wembanyama said.

Before San Antonio flew to New York for Game 3, Popovich addressed the team. His connection this time? Forget about the first 2 games. Focus connected the adjacent one.

Popovich has been trying to get them to play much even-keeled for immoderate clip now. He talks truthful often to these young Spurs, it seems they person his sound stuck successful their heads. They parrot his words astatine property conferences.

“As Pop says, erstwhile you win, you’re ne'er arsenic bully arsenic you thought you were. And erstwhile you lose, you’re ne'er arsenic bad — aliases rarely,” Wembanyama said during Round 2 against Minnesota. “Obviously, enactment humble and support working.”