By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-01-30 08:53:03
2022年10月30日，周日，于圣安东尼奥，在一场对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的NBA篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇（上图）在上半场的一次暂停期间与马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊交谈。(美联社照片/Darren Abate)
近日，格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 迎来了自己的生日，马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 也借此机会向他的前任教练送上了由衷的话语。
这位NBA历史胜场数最多的教练于本周三迎来了77岁生日。他在2025年11月遭遇中风，并于次年5月从教练岗位上退休，此后一直担任马刺队篮球运营总裁。
现年26岁的约翰逊与波波维奇关系密切，马刺队在2019年NBA选秀中以首轮第29顺位选中了这位年仅19岁的肯塔基大学校友。他还是由波波维奇执教、在因疫情推迟至2021年举行的2020年东京奥运会上夺得金牌的美国男篮的一员。在波波维奇执掌马刺的29个赛季里，他带领球队五次夺得NBA总冠军。
在周三晚马刺以111-99客场战胜休斯顿火箭的比赛中，这位NBA年度最佳第六人候选人替补出场27分钟，贡献了17分、7个篮板和追平赛季最高的5次助攻。
马刺队克服了16分的落后，最终击败了火箭队。赛后，《圣安东尼奥快报》的一名记者询问约翰逊，这场“‘敲石精神’式的胜利是否是球队送给波波维奇的生日礼物”。
约翰逊回应道，他非常感激波波维奇为他所做的一切。
“从我19岁还是个孩子时到现在，他给予我的远超我生命中所能奢求的一切，”约翰逊在谈到波波维奇时说。“即便是现在，我仍然感觉他就在我身边。他时常会给我发条短信。无论在场上还是场下，他都给了我巨大的帮助。这是我一生中所能得到的最好礼物之一。”
“他对我的职业生涯的影响之大，这份恩情我此生难报。”
作为目前马刺队中效力时间最长的球员，约翰逊将在周六对阵黄蜂队的比赛中登场。本赛季至今，他场均贡献13.6分、6.0个篮板和1.4次助攻，三分球场均出手3.1次，命中率达到全队最高的39.5%。
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：Keldon Johnson celebrates Popovich's birthday with heartfelt words
Keldon Johnson celebrates Popovich’s birthday with heartfelt words
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, top, speaks with Spurs forward Keldon Johnson during a timeout in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Gregg Popovich’s recent birthday prompted some heartfelt words from Spurs forward Keldon Johnson about his former coach.
The NBA’s all-time winningest coach turned 77 Wednesday. He remains the Spurs president of basketball operations after retiring from coaching in May following the stroke he suffered in November 2025.
Johnson, 26, became close with Popovich after the Spurs selected him 29th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft as a 19-year-old Kentucky alumnus. He was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 coached by Popovich, who guided the Spurs to five NBA titles during his 29 seasons at the helm.
The NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a season-high-matching five assists in 27 minutes off the bench in the Spurs’ 111-99 win at Houston on Wednesday night.
The Spurs overcame a 16-point deficit to down the Rockets. A San Antonio Express-News reporter asked Johnson after the game if the “pounding the rock style win was the team’s birthday gift” to Popovich.
Johnson responded by talking about how grateful he is for what Popovich has given him.
“He gave me more than I could have asked for from life, since I was a 19-year-old kid to now,” Johnson said of Popovich. "Even now, I feel like he’s still by my side. Every now and then he’ll shoot me a text. He’s helped me on and off the court. It’s one of the biggest gifts in life I could have asked for.
"How he influenced my career has been hands down something I could never repay him for.”
Johnson, the longest-tenured current member of the Spurs, will enter Saturday’s game against the Hornets, averaging 13.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists while shooting a team-high 39.5% from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts per game.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News