Is Gregg Popovich the greatest coach in NBA history? His career by the numbers
It's the end of an era in San Antonio, as the Spurs announced on Friday that head coach Gregg Popovich is transitioning to become the President of Basketball Operations after 29 seasons as their head coach.
Across those 29 years, Popovich established himself as one of the best coaches in NBA history, if not the single greatest. And with that, here's his coaching career by the numbers — with historical context on his Spurs stint.
1: Popovich is first among NBA coaches in regular-season wins, credited with 1,422 career victories.
2: The Spurs had the NBA Rookie of the Year twice with Popovich as head coach: Tim Duncan in 1998 and Victor Wembanyama in 2024. Both players were the No. 1 pick in their respective NBA drafts.
3A: Popovich is third among NBA coaches in postseason wins, credited with 170 career victories, and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors in three seasons. His 29 seasons as San Antonio's head coach also makes Popovich third in league history for total seasons as an NBA head coach.
3B: LeBron James and Kevin Durant changed teams three times apiece over Popovich's 29 seasons in command of the Spurs. Popovich and the Spurs went 2-1 in the NBA Finals against teams with James.
3C: Three NBA teams changed their home city over the past 29 seasons, with the Seattle SuperSonics becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder, the New Jersey Nets becoming the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors moving from Oakland to San Francisco. To boot, Oakland lost all three of its professional sports teams over that span (Warriors, Raiders and Athletics).
5: The Spurs won five NBA championships with Popovich as their head coach: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. Those five titles also tied him with Pat Riley and John Kundla for third