NBA Legend Gregg Popovich Could Get Airport Named After Him In San Antonio

Spurs legend Gregg Popovich in line for a major honor by the San Antonio City Council, making headlines in the process.

NBA Legend Gregg Popovich Could Get Airport Named After Him In San Antonio

Gregg Popovich (via NBA/X)

The legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich sent shockwaves after he announced his retirement from coaching earlier this season. Notably, Popovich has had an immense impact on the city of San Antonio in general. He gave the fans of San Antonio multiple reasons to celebrate in his tenure at the franchise.

Now, in return, it looks like he will be recognized with something huge. This week, a city council member in San Antonio proposed renaming the city’s airport in honor of longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Citing Popovich’s “immeasurable” influence on San Antonio, council member Manny Pelaez submitted the proposal to city clerk Debbie Racca-Sittre.

Following a stroke in November, Popovich, 76, revealed earlier this month that he was retiring from coaching. He later became the new president of basketball operations for the Spurs. During his 29 seasons as head coach of the Spurs, ‘Pop’ recorded a 1,422-869 record, six trips to the NBA Finals, and five titles.

Additionally, Gregg Popovich also spent major time with the military, specifically the U.S. Air Force. He played basketball, spent five years on active service, and even contemplated a career with the CIA after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Later, he competed for the U.S. Armed Forces Basketball Team, traveling throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and was an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy. Popovich started his coaching career as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy following his time in the military. Before joining the NBA, he subsequently had coaching positions at Pomona College and Pomona-Pitzer.

NBA star LeBron James had huge praise for the legendary Gregg Popovich

LeBron James is not someone who will jump on the praise bandwagon for someone that easily. However, it was the Spurs’ HC Gregg Popovich who we are talking about here. Of course, James could not ignore his retirement and instead hopped on the praise bandwagon in the recent segment of the Mind the Gap Podcast alongside co-host Steve Nash. He said: 

I mean, what can you say? You talk about the superlatives when it comes to Coach Pop, man, his list is out of this world. But I think what a lot of people have found out if you ever got an opportunity to encounter a one-on-one with him or even just in [passing], how great of a f-----g guy that guy is. And it makes sense with how unbelievable of a coach he was, because of the person he was.

On May 2, Popovich, 76, said that he was leaving his position as coach to take on the position of president of basketball operations for the Spurs. With 1,422 regular-season victories and five NBA titles, the three-time NBA Coach of the Year concludes his career as the most successful coach in NBA history. No wonder stars like James have such huge words for him.

Former NBA player opened up on playing under the coaching of Gregg Popovich

Former Spurs HC Gregg Popovich was a mastermind in his own. Players who have played under his coaching know the significance he carried in his role as head coach. One of them was former NBA player David West.

He publicly reaffirmed this opinion, describing how his one season with the Spurs was like going back to collegiate basketball, where seasoned coaches dissected every aspect of the game as though the players were amateurs. On the OGs Podcast, West said: 

That year was like going to basketball college, man. That training camp, they had a lot of fire coaches where they would sit and write notes during practice. I remember Thibs was down there, Del Negro was down there. So, it was really like basketball college in there bro.

After years of being a reliable starter with the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Hornets, West signed with the Spurs organization at the age of 35. But as soon as he got to San Antonio, he was instructed to take a bench position.

Additionally, under coach Popovich, he played just 18.0 minutes per game, down from 28.7 minutes per game in the 2014–15 season. Nevertheless, West did not consider this a downgrade. Rather, it turned into one of his favorite professional moments.

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