Off-peak times oblige, TrashTalk has taken the habit each summer of making you relive with emotion the greatest moments of the past season. Even in 2021, moreover, despite a summer that had then put all of our vital forces in PLS, but that’s another story. So we go back to our good old formula, we take a few steps back, a few months, and we remember that this 2021-22 season was crazy, from the first day to the last. Today ? A look back at Gregg Popovich’s 1336th career victory, the one that allowed Pop to become the most successful coach in history.
To relive Coach Pop’s historic night in live conditions, it’s here.
There are those personalities who leave their mark on the sport forever. Coaches, players or even leaders, some beings are decidedly special, almost doomed to leave an indelible mark of their passage in history. Gregg Popovich is undoubtedly one of them. As he enters his 26th season in the NBA last October, Pop has the opportunity to enter even more into the playbooks of the Great League, becoming the most successful coach of all time in the NBA. The task seems difficult, as the era of the great Spurs now seems far away. Attention, we are not saying here that Dejounte Murray is a less good player than Tony Parker, but a little nonetheless. Far from the tongues of vipers, the Texans finally make their way, allowing Coach Pop to overtake Lenny Wilkens to take second place in the ranking of the most victorious coaches all time in the regular season. The anecdote is already nice, but the objective – the real one – is clear: to dethrone Don Nelson, then at the top of this famous ranking.
Finally, it’s only four short days after having equaled Donald that Pop has the perfect opportunity to climb on the top step of the podium. At the turn of a Spurs – Jazz a priori without particular sporting interest, Jakob Poeltl’s band can nevertheless make their already legendary coach the biggest winner in history. Well, things are rather badly embarked, since to make it short, the Texans are led by ten points during a good part of the meeting. In the wake of a Dejounte Murray in boss mode, the trend will however end up being reversed. The Jazz choke in the final moments and let San Antonio slip away to victory (104-102). And what a victory. This is the 1336th time that a team coached by Gregg Charles Popovich has won in the regular season. ay is. It is done. Tonight, March 11, 2022, Pop officially becomes the winningest coach in NBA history. The numbers are crazy, almost as much as the tempestuous man’s legacy. Five times NBA champion, three times Coach of the Year, third most successful coach in the Playoffs and now alone, up there in the regular season. The emotion at the AT&T Center in San Antonio is palpable, the total communion. As one man the crowd begins to applaud the coach, HIS coach. Dejounte Murray falls into the arms of Grandpa Pop, as does Jazz coach Quin Snyder – who went to Spurs school – as well as Rudy Gay, a former San Antonio player. No matter the jersey on the shoulders, impossible not to bow to the monument that represents Gregg Popovich. Today, the Texan coach now sits alone at the top of this ranking, having amassed an incredible total of 1344 victories in 26 seasons. The least we can say is that we wish a lot of courage to those who will try to overcome it one day.
Gregg Popovich is definitely a unique coach. As famous for his exploits as for his legendary rants and interviews, Pop alone represents a beautiful part of NBA history. Today still in place on the Spurs bench for a 27th consecutive season, Pop has the opportunity to write a little more about an already solidly anchored legend.