Prior to the preseason game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr stated that Gregg Popovich seems rejuvenated after getting Victor Wembanyama, but the 74-year-old hilariously dismissed that notion.
“What was I being rejuvenated from,” Popovich asked. “Was I in a mental institution, or was I depressed and curled up in my bedroom or something?… Steve is an a**hole.”
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While he was certainly not at a mental institution, the last couple of seasons would have at least been a little bit rough for Popovich. While he embraced working with young players and the Spurs’ rebuild, all the losing would have been hard to take for a man who has experienced so much success.
From 1997-98 all the way to 2018-19, the Spurs made the playoffs every season and won five championships along the way. Since then, though, they have failed to make it to the postseason, and it seemed like they were going nowhere before Wembanyama’s arrival. Now with him in tow, there is a lot of excitement about what the future might hold.
Gregg Popovich Is Excited To Coach Victor Wembanyama
The Frenchman was drafted by the Spurs with the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, and their fans were over the moon. Not long after the draft, Popovich spoke about how excited he was to coach Wembanyama.
“I’m very excited. You don’t want me to jump up and down, do you? Put on a show? I’d do a somersault, but I’d be out for three months,” Popovich said.
We definitely don’t want to see him do somersaults. While he may never admit it, Wembanyama’s arrival certainly would have changed things for Popovich. You didn’t really see a pathway for the Spurs to be a contender in the near future before he arrived, and I could only see Popovich sticking around for so long if they remained mediocre.
Now with Wembanyama, there’s at least a chance of them being great in a few years. It might also be why Popovich agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Spurs, just a few weeks after the 19-year-old arrived.
Gregg Popovich Is Not Going To Talk About The Flaws In Wembanyama’s Game
Popovich is known to be a hard taskmaster, and he is not one to shy away from criticizing his players behind the scenes. He won’t do it publicly, though, and recently, Popovich refused to talk about the flaws in Wembanyama’s game.
It was an odd question by the reporter and someone like Pop was never going to talk about it. With how well the teenager is playing, his flaws aren’t really something you want to talk about either.
In this game against the Warriors, Wembanyama had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 5 blocks, as the Spurs won 122-117. He made life miserable for Golden State with his defense and it looks like he has the potential to be one of the best players in the league on that end of the floor in his rookie season itself. I can’t wait to see how teams tackle this Wembanyama problem.
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