By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-05-03 15:01:03
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2001年5月27日，在洛杉矶斯台普斯中心第一节比赛中，马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)与安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)和埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)交谈。
当安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯回忆起为格雷格·波波维奇效力的时光时，他首先想到的是这段经历是如何结束的。
2002年8月，波波维奇亲自打电话给他的替补控卫，告知他即将被交易到波特兰。
这不是丹尼尔斯特别想听到的消息，但他很感激这通电话。
“我敬佩波波维奇的一点是，他总是告诉你真相，即使你不喜欢，” 丹尼尔斯说。“他告诉你你需要听的，而不是你想听的。”
就像NBA中的其他人一样，丹尼尔斯在本周回忆起了波波维奇，这位传奇教练于周五宣布从马刺的教练席上退役，结束了他创NBA纪录的29个赛季的执教生涯。
76岁的波波维奇在2024-25赛季的大部分时间里都在从11月份中风的后遗症中恢复，预计他将继续以篮球运营总裁的身份留在俱乐部。
金州勇士队教练史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)和休斯顿火箭队教练伊梅·乌度卡(Ime Udoka)——他们都曾是波波维奇手下的马刺球员——在周五的西部季后赛第六场比赛中，穿着印有“谢谢波波！”字样的相同衬衫亮相，这几个字意义深远。
“波波维奇是我生命中最重要的人之一，原因有很多，” 科尔说。“其中大多数都远远超出了篮球的范畴。 这是令人难过的一天。 但我认为这也是令人鼓舞的一天，因为对于他来说，从组织上过渡到下一个角色是很自然的……所以我今天有很多复杂的情绪，主要是我对波波维奇的爱，我对他的同情，以及他对马刺所做的一切。”
乌度卡不仅在2007年至2009年以及2010-11赛季的部分时间里为马刺效力，还在波波维奇手下担任了七个赛季的助理教练。
他说波波维奇周五下午给他打了电话，但主要是谈论与勇士队的系列赛。
当乌度卡回忆起波波维奇的职业生涯时，他并不一定记得联盟纪录的1422场胜利，或者马刺在他执教下赢得的五次总冠军。
金州勇士队教练史蒂夫·科尔穿着一件印有格雷格·波波维奇名字的T恤，以此纪念这位周五退役的前马刺队主教练。
乌度卡说，他主要想到的是“每天的信息，我们所有人学习并回顾的经验教训”。
“显然，对于我们所有人来说，这都是苦乐参半的一天，” 乌度卡说。“但（我）很高兴他处境不错，也很高兴他和他的家人在一起很开心。 很高兴我能有机会与他共事，向他学习，并称他为朋友。”
1996-97赛季，在球队的战绩一路下滑的第18场比赛时，波波维奇作为马刺队的总经理，取代了鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)成为球队的教练。
这是一个大胆的举动，当时受到了广泛批评。
然而，那些从一开始就在那里的人，即使在那支饱受伤病困扰的球队步履蹒跚，最终以20胜62负的成绩结束赛季，创下俱乐部历史上最差纪录时，也看到了伟大的种子。
“球员们为他努力拼搏，即使我们没有赢得很多比赛，” 肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说，这位明星前锋那个赛季只打了39场比赛。“你可以看出，如果他能得到合适的球队，他就能成为一名优秀的教练。”
在接下来的赛季中，埃利奥特和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)从伤病名单中回归有所帮助。 1997年选秀中，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)作为改变球队命运的状元秀加盟，同样起到了重要作用。
尽管有了这些天赋的提升，波波维奇在邓肯的第二个NBA赛季中结束的这个名人堂级别的执教生涯差点夭折。
在马刺队令人失望地以6胜8负的战绩开始了因劳资纠纷而缩短的1998-99赛季后，关于波波维奇可能会被解雇的传言开始四处流传。
在3月2日对阵休斯顿的比赛之前，控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊召集了一次只有球员参加的会议，阐明了利害关系。
“当时的感觉是，如果我们没有赢得那场比赛，波波维奇第二天就会走人，” 丹尼尔斯说。“那场胜利改变了篮球历史的进程。”
如果波波维奇知道他的工作岌岌可危，他并没有表现出来。
“他一点也没变，” 丹尼尔斯说。“他只是继续执教。”
这在近三十年的时间里一直如此。
马刺队在那晚战胜了火箭队，然后在剩下的35场常规赛中赢下了30场，最终夺得了球队历史上第一个NBA总冠军。
波波维奇的工作再也没有受到威胁。
向米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)——这位38岁的助理教练于周五晋升为波波维奇的全职继任者——致歉，可以肯定的是，没有教练能像波波维奇那样为马刺队赢得如此多的比赛。
斯坦·阿尔贝克(Stan Albeck)在俱乐部历史胜场榜上遥遥领先第二位，他赢得了153场比赛。
“他首先会告诉你的是，你必须做你自己，不要试图模仿别人，做你自己，” 乌度卡说。“他保持得很简单，他说这里面没有什么神奇的公式。 这在于关心别人。 这是他所做一切的基础。”
除了为波波维奇效力外，科尔还曾在芝加哥为菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)效力。 他将这两位教练都描绘成改变了职业的代表人物。
“在我看来，这两位帮助创造了我们目前所处的教练和团队建设的文化，这种文化很大程度上基于价值观、人际关系，以及随之而来的强烈的竞争欲望，” 科尔说。“波波维奇在联盟内外，甚至在其他体育运动中，都帮助创造了这种氛围。”
那些充满人情味的时刻是丹尼尔斯记忆最深刻的，尽管波波维奇将他交易到波特兰已经过去了近四分之一个世纪——更不用说这是为了得到科尔的交易了。
当时，丹尼尔斯并不想离开圣安东尼奥。 在为马刺效力了四个赛季后，他已经安顿下来，与邓肯成为了好朋友，并遇到了将成为他妻子的女人。
即便如此，丹尼尔斯还是很感激波波维奇亲自打电话来告诉他这个消息。
“他不希望我不得不通过体育中心或其他类似的地方听到这个消息，” 丹尼尔斯说。“关于我在圣安东尼奥的时光，我能说的一件事是，我从未感到被欺骗过。 我不能在其他任何地方都这样说。”
丹尼尔斯最后一次见到波波维奇是在两个赛季前。 现在是为新奥尔良鹈鹕队工作的电视分析师，丹尼尔斯在一场比赛前主动找到波波维奇，向他请教篮球业务方面的问题。
在比赛开始前不到一个小时，波波维奇示意丹尼尔斯进入冰沙国王中心的客队教练办公室。 两人聊了30分钟。
至于很久以前被交易到波特兰这件事？ 丹尼尔斯仍然对那一刻心存感激。
“离开后我才明白波波维奇是多么的特别，圣安东尼奥马刺队是多么的特别，” 丹尼尔斯说。“即使在我离开多年后，他总是让我感到受欢迎。 你会看到一些粗暴的新闻发布会或场边采访，但被忽略的是上帝赋予那个人的一颗真心。”
Danielle Lerner对本报道亦有贡献。
Antonio Daniels puts up an off-balanced three-point attempt as the shot clock winds down against Utah in the second half Thursday, January 17, 2002 at the Alamodome.
From left: Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich greet each other following the NBA preseason game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. The Spurs won 122-117.
点击查看原文：Gregg Popovich's Spurs coaching career marked by human connections
Gregg Popovich’s Spurs coaching career marked by human connections
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks to Antonio Daniels and Avery Johnson during first period at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday May 27, 2001.
When Antonio Daniels thinks of his time playing for Gregg Popovich, he thinks of how it all ended.
In August of 2002, Popovich personally phoned his backup point guard to let him know he was about to be traded to Portland.
It was not news Daniels particularly wanted to hear, but a call he appreciated.
“The thing I respected about Pop, he always told you the truth even if you didn’t like it,” Daniels said. “He told you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear.”
Like others across the NBA, Daniels had occasion to recall Popovich this week, as the legendary coach announced his retirement Friday from the bench after an NBA-record 29 seasons with the Spurs.
The 76-year-old Popovich, who spent most of the 2024-25 campaign recovering from a stroke suffered in November, is expected to remain with the club in his capacity as president of basketball operations.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr and Houston coach Ime Udoka – both of them former Spurs players under Popovich – arrived at Game 6 of their teams’ Western Conference playoff series Friday wearing matching shirts bearing a two-word message that spoke volumes: “Thanks Pop!”
“Pop is one of the most important people in my life for many, many reasons,” Kerr said. “Most of them go way beyond basketball. It’s a sad day. It’s also an encouraging day, I think, because this is a natural transition for him organizationally to move into his next role. … So I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions today, mainly just my love for Pop, my empathy for him, for what he’s gone through for the Spurs organization.”
Not only did Udoka play parts of three seasons with the Spurs from 2007 to 2009 and again in 2010-11, he also spent seven seasons as an assistant under Popovich.
He said Popovich called him Friday afternoon, but mainly to talk about the series against the Warriors.
When Udoka thinks about Popovich’s career, he doesn’t necessarily remember the league-record 1,422 victories or the five championships the Spurs won under his watch.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr wears a Gregg Popovich shirt in honor of the former Spurs coach who retired on Friday.
Mostly, Udoka said, he thinks of “the daily messages, the lessons that we all learn and think back on.”
“It’s a bittersweet day, obviously, for all of us,” Udoka said. “But (I’m) happy he’s in a good place and happy he’s good with his family. Glad I got a chance to work with him, learn from him, and call him a friend.”
Popovich was the Spurs’ general manager in 1996-97 when, 18 games into a spiraling season, he replaced Bob Hill as the team’s coach.
It was a bold move that was widely panned at the time.
Those who were there at the beginning, however, saw the seeds of something great even as that injury-plagued team stumbled to a 20-62 finish that remains the worst in club history.
“The guys played hard for him, even though we didn’t win a lot of games,” said Sean Elliott, a star forward who was limited to 39 games that season. “You could tell he could be a good coach if you could get the right team around him.”
Getting Elliott and David Robinson back from the injured list the following season helped. So too did the arrival of Tim Duncan as the franchise-changing No. 1 pick in the 1997 draft.
Despite that booster shot of talent, the Hall of Fame career Popovich concluded Friday nearly withered on the vine during Duncan’s second NBA campaign.
After the Spurs began the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season a disappointing 6-8, rumors began to swirl Popovich’s job might be on the chopping block.
Before a March 2 game at Houston, point guard Avery Johnson called a players-only meeting to lay out the stakes.
“The feeling was if we didn’t win that game, Pop was going to be gone the next day,” Daniels said. “That win changed the course of basketball history.”
If Popovich knew his job was on the line, he did not let on.
“He didn’t change at all,” Daniels said. “He just kept on coaching.”
That remained true for nearly three decades.
The Spurs triumphed that night against the Rockets, then won 30 of their final 35 regular-season games from there en route to claiming the franchise’s first NBA championships.
Popovich’s job was never in jeopardy again.
With apologies to Mitch Johnson – the 38-year-old assistant coach promoted Friday to be Popovich’s full-time replacement – it is fair to surmise no coach will ever win as many games with the Spurs as did Popovich.
Stan Albeck, who sits a distant No. 2 on the club’s all-time victories list, won 153 games.
“The first thing he would tell you is you have to be yourself and not try to copy somebody, be who you are,” Udoka said. “ He keeps it very simple, and he says there’s no magic formula to this. It’s about caring for people. That’s the basis of everything he does.”
In addition to playing for Popovich, Kerr also played for Phil Jackson in Chicago. He paints both coaches as transformative figures in the profession.
“Those two guys, in my mind, helped create the current culture that we’re in for coaching and team building, where it’s so much based on values, human connection, and then a fierce competitive desire to go with that,” Kerr said. “Pop sort of helped create that vibe around the league and in other sports, too.”
Those human moments are the ones Daniels remembers most, nearly a quarter of a century after Popovich traded him to Portland – in a deal to land Kerr, no less.
At the time, Daniels did not want to leave San Antonio. He was settled in comfortably after four seasons with the Spurs, having become fast friends with Duncan and meeting the woman who would become his wife.
Even so, Daniels appreciated the phone call from Popovich breaking the news man to man.
“He didn’t want me to have to hear about it on SportsCenter or something like that,” Daniels said. “The one thing I can say about my time in San Antonio, I never felt lied to. I can’t say that about everywhere else I played.”
The last time Daniels saw Popovich in person was two seasons ago. Now a television analyst working for the New Orleans Pelicans, Daniels approached Popovich before a game in the Big Easy to pick his brain about the business of basketball.
Less than an hour before tipoff, Popovich waved Daniels into the visiting coaches’ office at the Smoothie King Center. The two talked for 30 minutes.
And as for that long ago trade to Portland? Daniels remains grateful for that moment too.
“It took me leaving to understand how special Pop was and how special the San Antonio Spurs are,” Daniels said. “He always made feel welcome, years after I left. You see some of the gruff pressers or the sideline interviews, but what gets lost is the heart God gave that man.”
Danielle Lerner contributed to this report.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News