By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-01-28 11:14:51
2022年3月11日，星期五，圣安东尼奥AT&T中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇在赢下生涯第1336场比赛后庆祝，正式成为NBA历史常规赛胜场数最多的主教练。
这位传奇教头于本周三迎来了他的77岁生日。
当然，我们所说的正是前马刺队的传奇教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich)。就在几天前，他现身雪松公园H-E-B中心，观看了奥斯汀马刺队的一场G联赛比赛。他的这次亮相不仅温暖了现场球迷的心，也让无数场外的球迷为之动容。
波波维奇曾率领马刺队走过了29年载誉无数的辉煌岁月，但在2025年11月中风后，他的执教生涯也随之画上了句号。一段他借助助行器走过球场的视频在网络上迅速走红。
这也再次提醒人们，他在球队内部是多么受人爱戴，他仅仅是出现在那里，就能带来巨大的鼓舞。
“我的意思是，如果你是一名可能还未在圣安东尼奥打过球的奥斯汀马刺队球员，而波波维奇教练能亲临现场看你的比赛，那将是这些年轻人永生难忘的经历，”米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道。在波波维奇中风后，约翰逊曾担任马刺队的代理主教练，并于去年五月被正式任命为主教练。
“几十年来，我们都有目共睹他那与人互动、沟通、建立联系、激励他人以及让球员承担责任的非凡能力。如今，他能以自己的方式继续这样做，这是极其宝贵的。我认为，这支球队里的很多人都在不同层面上对此深有体会。他还能这样走出来，出现在公众面前，这真的很酷。我知道他这么做并非为了博取关注，但这依然让我看到他走上球场成为全场焦点时，会心一笑。”
作为NBA历史上胜场数最多的教练和五届总冠军得主，波波维奇在去年五月退休后，继续担任马刺队篮球运营总裁的职务。
除了观看奥斯汀马刺队的比赛，波波维奇还在11月中旬于三一大学为未来的医疗保健行业领导者们举办的一场会议上发表了演讲。
“波波的表现简直太棒了，”前马刺队球星肖恩·埃利奥特 (Sean Elliott) 说道，他也与自己的前教练一同参加了那次活动。
波波维奇是那次活动的压轴嘉宾。三一大学将该活动宣传为一场为医疗管理专业学生和卫理公会医疗保健中心住院医师举办的“关于领导力、团队合作与文化的对话”。
“能和他坐下来，看他与所有年轻人互动，真的非常有趣，”埃利奥特说。“他讲了很多故事，谈了很多幕后点滴，有些我知道，也有些是我闻所未闻的。”
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。
点击查看原文：Gregg Popovich turned 77 Wednesday days after appearance in Austin
Gregg Popovich turned 77 Wednesday days after appearance in Austin
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich celebrates Friday, Mar 11, 2022 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio after winning his 1,336th game to give him the most all-time regular season coaching wins in NBA history.
El Jefe turned 77 on Wednesday.
Of course, that would be legendary former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who just a few days ago attended an Austin Spurs G League game at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, an appearance that warmed the hearts of fans in attendance and many outside the building as well.
A video of Popovich, whose 29-year championship-laden run guiding the Spurs ended after he suffered a stroke in November 2025, walking across the court with mobility aid quickly went viral.
It also served as a reminder of how beloved he is within the organization and how his mere presence can be inspirational.
“I mean, if you’re an Austin Spurs player that may have not been in San Antonio and you had coach Pop come to your game, that’ll be something those guys will remember forever,” said Mitch Johnson, who succeeded Popovich as coach of the Spurs on an acting basis after the stroke before being named full-time coach last May.
“He has a way about him that we saw on front street for decades in terms of his skill to be able to interact, communicate, relate, to motivate, hold people accountable, for years. And so for him to continue to do that in his own way is invaluable. And it is something I think a lot of people in this organization feel on a whole lot of levels. And it’s cool for him to still be able to do that and get out in the public. I know that’s not what he does it for or what he’s looking for, but it still puts a smile on my face to be able to see him go out there and kind of hold court.”
Popovich continues to serve as the Spurs president of basketball operations after retiring last May as the winningest coach in NBA history and the owner of five NBA titles.
In addition to attending the Austin Spurs game, Popovich spoke at conference for future health care leaders in mid-November at Trinity University.
“Pop was absolutely tremendous,” said Sean Elliott, the former Spurs star who participated in the event with his former coach.
Popovich headlined the event, which Trinity billed as a “conversation on leadership, teamwork and culture” for Healthcare Administration students and Methodist Healthcare residents.
“It was fun to sit down with him and see him interact with all the young people,” Elliott said. "He told a lot of stories and talked about a lot of things that were behind the scenes, some things I knew about and some things I didn’t.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News