NBA: Greatest head coach in each team’s franchise history

Greatest head coach in San Antonio Spurs history: Gregg Popovich, 1996-Present

There is due diligence that needs to be done when discussing the San Antonio Spurs and their coaching history. In the ABA, San Antonio was a middling team compared to powerhouses in New York and Denver, but Cliff Hagan found success with the squad. Later coaches such as Doug Moe, Larry Brown and Bob Hill all posted winning records with the team overall.

When Gregg Popovich fired Hill and stepped from the front office onto the sideline to coach the team, he began the single greatest period of coaching for a single team that the NBA has ever seen, before or since. Over the past 22 seasons, the Spurs have made the playoffs 22 times, a streak that is still active as of this writing.

Popovich has proven his success was not based on one star, although the quiet leadership and excellent play of Tim Duncan was certainly a major part of the culture that has been developed there.

He won with a young Duncan and an aging David Robinson, he won with a prime Duncan paired with a young Tony Parker, he won with an aging Duncan and prime Parker and he won with a young Kawhi Leonard with an aging cast.

In just under 23 seasons as head coach, he has totaled 1,245 wins, third-most all time and by far the most for any coach with just one team. His 170 playoff wins are a staggering amount, more than many NBA franchises have in their entire history. Popovich is a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and a five-time NBA champion.

What is most impressive about Popovich is the sustained success of the team. 22 straight trips to the postseason is an NBA record and for it to happen in the modern era with 30 teams is staggering.

For 18 straight seasons during that run, the Spurs won 50 or more games. No coach can even come close to the excellence that has been Popovich as an NBA head coach. The Spurs are the thankful recipients of that coaching excellence.