Parker, Pop's partnership forged after rocky start takes them on joint HOF journey - ESPN

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and his longtime point guard, Tony Parker, are headlining a star-studded class of entrants into the Naismith Hall of Fame this weekend.

But, as Popovich detailed Friday, that partnership almost never got off the ground after Parker's initial workout didn't go well.

«I hated him,» Popovich said here at Mohegan Sun, where the Hall of Fame held its news conferences Friday ahead of Saturday night's enshrinement in Springfield, Mass. «I said I don't want him. He's a weenie. He's unaggressive. He doesn't like contact, he's 19, and I don't want to see him.»

After a plea from Parker's agent, who agreed that the workout wasn't great but asked Popovich to give him a second chance, the coach did so. That time, Popovich acknowledged, Parker «kicked ass.»

«The rest,» Popovich said, «is history.»

The two men went on to spend 17 years together — with Parker playing only the final season of his career with the Charlotte Hornets. They won five championships, and — along with Tim Duncan, who entered the Hall two years ago, and Manu Ginobili, who did last year — formed one of the winningest teams in NBA history.

Now, all four will be in, with Duncan and Ginobili serving as presenters for Parker and all three players — plus David Robinson — doing so for Popovich on Saturday.

Chairman Jerry Colangelo said the Hall specifically ordered the induction order so that Parker could be nominated first, then present Popovich alongside his former teammates. That's in keeping with Popovich's long-standing belief that he shouldn't go in before any of his four Hall of Fame-worthy players already had.

«It's pretty special,» Parker said. «It started two years ago. I went to Timmy's, and Timmy gave