LeBron James reveals how Gregg Popovich the ‘spy’ impacted opponents

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has faced off against Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs three times in the NBA Finals.

LeBron James reveals how Gregg Popovich the ‘spy’ impacted opponents

LeBron James had to face Gregg Popovich's masterful game plans

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has battled against some of the best players to come through the NBA. In his twenty-two seasons in the league, he has faced the best of them not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs.

Be it losing to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in his first season with the Miami Heat. Or going up against the Boston Celtics Big 3, or even his battles against Kobe Bryant. LeBron James has banged knees with a lot of them.

But the most memorable was his first experience of being in the NBA Finals. That was back in 2007 in his fourth season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They faced the formidable San Antonio Spurs, who ended up sweeping them 4-0. From that experience, James said this to Steve Nash on Mind the Game podcast.

When you play the Spurs, not only are you trying to defeat the Hall of Fame players, you’re also trying to defeat the Hall of Fame coach.

LeBron James said

He remembered how it was going up against Gregg Popovich and his team. James first mentioned that he had to guard against Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. But whenever he thought that the Spurs were tiring, he saw Popovich near the sidelines and knew ‘Pop’ would counter that fatigue.

He was not in the game, but was in the game while standing on the sidelines. Gregg Popovich has elevated himself to be a Hall of Fame coach because of his tactics and game management. Hearing this, Steve Nash believes his background had something to do with it.

Steve Nash believes Gregg Popovich’s background helped him

Gregg Popovich was never known to be a great developmental coach. That task was thrust upon the other coaches who were with him. Steve Nash believes Pop’s tactical acumen came from his military background.

Was Pop a spy in the military? He spoke Russian. He came from the Air Force Academy. I think he was on his way to be an agent for the United States government. You’re trying to win a basketball game against him.

Steve Nash said

Nash believes that background helped Pop become a genius when it came to countering offensive game plans. The result, five NBA titles and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Those accolades have helped him earn a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.

He is also one of the Top 15 coaches in NBA history. Now he is battling health problems. But whenever he regains his health, his passion for coaching could see him return to the sidelines. San Antonio Spurs fans hope Gregg Popovich will return to coach the team next season and help them grow into a contender.

LeBron James’ adversity after losing to Spurs and Mavs made him a better player

LeBron James has won four NBA titles. But to get to his first, he had to lose to both the San Antonio Spurs as well as the Dallas Mavericks. Those losses helped him become one of the greatest basketball players ever.

In my second year in Miami, losing that year before gave me enough experience to know how to handle adversity even more. How to go into Boston for game 6, down 3-2, everybody was saying that this is over. How to come back in 2016 after losing in 2015 and how to handle adversity being down 3-1.

LeBron James said

The Akron native clarified that those adversities helped him overcome the doubts and negativities to succeed in the following seasons. The loss to the Mavericks taught him how to dig deep when they were down 2-3 against the Boston Celtics’ Big 3 the following season.

Losing the 2015 Finals taught him how to push his teammates to play better in 2016. That 2016 NBA title win is still the only time in Finals history when a team won after being down 3-1. James has used that adversity to win in his career.

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