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Tag: Gregg Popovich

  • San Antonio Spurs Win 2014 Championship, Claim Fifth NBA Title

    Ending Miami Heat’s two year winning streak, the San Antonio Spurs claimed their fifth NBA title. The games were won 5-1, and the score of the final game was 104-87.

    “It makes last year OK,” player Tim Duncan told CBS.

    Miami Heat received a crushing defeat in the final game. After losing four games to the Spurs, Miami Heat needed to make a major comeback and win the next three games.

    What ended up happening? They lost. One could say that the San Antonio Spurs got their revenge for Miami beating them last year 4-3.

    Or it could be the tide simply rising in the favor of the Spurs once more. Their last title was claimed seven years ago, and their four previous titles were won within a ten year time period.

    Although fans of Miami Heat may be disappointed. Some commentators like Rob Oller from the Collumbus Dispatch found the game beautiful. “The Spurs’ artistry of play is refreshing, considering basketball no longer is known for its poetry of motion,” Oller wrote, “The game has turned, for the worse, from something resembling geometric simplicity — perfectly angled bounce passes, 45-degree back-door cuts and triangular ball movement — into a display of power dunking, three-point gunning and one-on-one clear outs.”

    The Spurs, instead of shooting first, passed during their game, something Oller recognized as an aesthetic revitalization of the sport. Is he right? See for yourself:

    Who takes the credit for this win? Perhaps coach Gregg Popovich would be a good candidate. It was he, after all, who chose to pursue effective team building instead of attempting to recruit major stars.

    Regardless, the coach remains gracious in victory. When asked about Miami Heat player LeBron James, Popovich replied, according to Westport News, “LeBron James is a great player. He’s a great competitor. He’s a class act. And I know he’s feeling what we felt last year, and I don’t wish that on anybody. It’s tough. Most people never even have that feeling. Either the feeling of elation or the depression that goes with a loss.”

    Image via NBA Playoffs, YouTube.

  • Becky Hammon Invited To Spurs’ Practice

    Becky Hammon’s career in the WNBA ended last summer after she suffered a knee injury. Since then, she has been very open about her desire to stay in the game and coach a team.

    After hearing that Hammon would want to coach, the Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich invited Hammon to attend his practices. He says that she is not only a good player, but a smart player too.

    ”She wants to coach after she’s done,” Popovich said. ”Because she’s not just a good player but a smart player, a great person in our community, just somebody that we all respect so much, we gave her the opportunity to sit with us during the year. She came to our coaches’ meetings, argued with us. She did everything. She’s been wonderful.”

    Hammon has been attending home games and has sat in on film sessions. She is, more-or-less, shadowing Popovich to get a feel for the coaching side of the game. ”There’s a standard that he puts on them every day,” Hammon explained. ”You’re expected to meet that standard and play to that standard. It doesn’t matter if you’re up 20 or it’s a one-point game. It’s kind of a beautiful thing to watch.”

    Hammon has explained that she would be willing to coach women or men and Popovich said she should be allowed to. ”I don’t see why not. There shouldn’t be any limitations,” Popovich said. ”It’s about talent and the ability to do things. It’s not about what your sex is or your race or anything else.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons