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进行的第一节比赛中，马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 与安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯和埃弗里·约翰逊交谈。
当安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯 (Antonio Daniels) 回忆起他为格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 效力的时光时，他首先想到的是一切是如何结束的。
2002年8月，波波维奇亲自给他的替补控卫打电话，告知他即将被交易到波特兰。
这并不是丹尼尔斯特别想听到的消息，但他很感激这通电话。
“我尊重波波维奇的一点是，他总是告诉你真相，即使你不喜欢，”丹尼尔斯说，“他告诉你你需要听到的，而不是你想听到的。”
和NBA中的其他人一样，丹尼尔斯本周也有机会回忆起波波维奇，这位传奇教练于周五宣布从马刺的教练席上退休，结束了他创NBA纪录的29个赛季。
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球队。
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麾下的马刺球员——在周五穿着印有“谢谢你，波波！”字样的同款T恤抵达了他们球队的西部决赛系列赛第六场比赛现场，这句话意味深长。
“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。今天是令人难过的一天。我认为这也是令人鼓舞的一天，因为对于他来说，这是一个很自然的过渡，在组织上转入他的下一个角色……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，以及他对马刺队所做的一切。”
乌度卡不仅在2007年至2009年以及2010-11赛季为马刺效力了三个赛季，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，他并不一定记得他创下的联盟纪录的1422场胜利，或者马刺在他执教下赢得的五个总冠军。
金州勇士队教练史蒂夫·科尔穿着一件印有格雷格·波波维奇的T恤，以此纪念这位周五退休的前马刺队教练。
乌度卡说，他主要想到的是“每天的信息，我们学到的所有教训，以及我们回想起来的事情”。
“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）很高兴他处于一个很好的状态，并且很高兴他和他的家人在一起。很高兴我能有机会和他一起工作，向他学习，并称他为朋友。”
1996-97赛季，波波维奇是马刺队的总经理，在球队陷入困境的赛季开始18场比赛后，他取代了鲍勃·希尔 (Bob Hill) 成为球队的教练。
这是一个大胆的举动，当时受到了广泛的批评。
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跌跌撞撞地以20胜62负的战绩结束比赛时，他们也看到了伟大的种子，这仍然是俱乐部历史上最糟糕的战绩。
“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，如果你能找到合适的球队围绕着他，他会成为一名优秀的教练。”
让埃利奥特和大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 从伤病名单中恢复过来，这对球队有所帮助。蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 作为1997年选秀大会上改变球队命运的状元秀的到来也是如此。
尽管有这种人才的提升，波波维奇的职业生涯在邓肯的第二个NBA赛季几乎枯萎了。
在马刺队以令人失望的6胜8负的战绩开始了因劳资纠纷而缩短的1998-99赛季后，开始有传言说波波维奇的工作可能岌岌可危。
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 (Avery Johnson) 召集了一次仅限球员参加的会议，以阐明利害关系。
“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。
“他根本没有改变，”丹尼尔斯说，“他只是继续执教。”
在接下来的近三十年里，情况仍然如此。
在那晚对阵火箭队的比赛中，马刺队取得了胜利，然后从那里赢得了最后35场常规赛中的30场，最终获得了球队的第一个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岁的助理教练在周五被提升为波波维奇的正式继任者——致歉，可以公平地推测，没有教练能像波波维奇那样为马刺赢得那么多的比赛。
在俱乐部历史胜场榜上排名第二的斯坦·阿尔贝克 (Stan Albeck) 赢得了153场比赛。
“他首先会告诉你，你必须做你自己，不要试图模仿别人，要做你自己，”乌度卡说。“他把事情弄得很简单，他说这里没有什么神奇的公式。重要的是关心他人。这是他所做一切的基础。”
除了为波波维奇效力之外，科尔还曾在芝加哥为菲尔·杰克逊 (Phil Jackson) 效力。他将两位教练都描绘成该行业具有变革意义的人物。
“在我看来，这两个人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是基于价值观、人际关系，以及随之而来的强烈的竞争欲望，”科尔说。“波波维奇在某种程度上帮助创造了联盟乃至其他运动中的这种氛围。”
在波波维奇将他交易到波特兰近四分之一个世纪后，丹尼尔斯最记得的还是那些人性化的时刻——更不用说这是一笔为了得到科尔的交易。
当时，丹尼尔斯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，丹尼尔斯仍然感谢波波维奇亲自打电话告诉他这个消息。
“他不希望我不得不在体育中心或其他地方听到这件事，”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，我从来没有觉得被欺骗过。我在其他地方打球时不能这么说。”
丹尼尔斯上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员，丹尼尔斯在一场比赛前找到波波维奇，向他请教关于篮球业务的问题。
在比赛开始前不到一个小时，波波维奇示意丹尼尔斯进入 smoothie King Center 的客队教练办公室。两人聊了30分钟。
至于那笔很久以前去波特兰的交易？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特别，圣安东尼奥马刺是多么特别，”丹尼尔斯说。“在他离开多年后，他总是让我感到受欢迎。你看到一些粗暴的新闻发布会或场边采访，但被忽视的是上帝赋予那个人的内心。”
Danielle Lerner 对此报道亦有贡献。
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