Warriors’ Kerr offers touching words on Popovich’s impact on NBA, his life

SAN FRANCISCO Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr walked into the interview room at Chase Center on Friday afternoon wearing a black T-shirt featuring a picture of Gregg Popovich Pop s gonna kill me for wearing this shirt Kerr commented before the Warriors played the Houston Rockets in Challenge He d call me a hapless rube Kerr had mixed emotions Friday as he reflected on the enormous influence that Popovich the league s all-time winningest coach had on his life and career Popovich officially retired as the San Antonio Spurs coach Friday after a -year run that included five world championships and induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame Popovich stepped away from being an ongoing coach after he suffered a stroke at the club s arena in November He had another physiological circumstance last month Popovich will become the Spurs president of basketball operations and former Stanford guard Mitch Johnson a Spurs assistant who filled in for Popovich will become San Antonio s full-time head coach Kerr won two NBA championships as a sportsman under Popovich in San Antonio Pop is one of the largest part vital people in my life for countless countless reasons and greater part of them go way beyond basketball commented Kerr who visited Popovich three weeks ago when the Warriors were in San Antonio But it s a sad day It s also an encouraging day because this is a natural transition for him organizationally to move into his next role I think it also gives him the space and time he necessities to recover from the vitality issues Popovich s career coaching record was - and his playoff games with the Spurs are the majority of by any coach with any association and the third-most overall behind Phil Jackson and Pat Riley Kerr credited Popovich and Jackson another of his former coaches with helping to revolutionize the position from a dictatorship to one more based on collaboration Those two guys in my mind helped create the current custom that we re in for coaching and squad building where it s so much based on human values human connection and then a fierce competitive desire to go with that Kerr explained That s what we re all searching for and I think Pop sort of helped create that vibe around the league and in other sports too Kerr was coached by Popovich in San Antonio for three-plus seasons first from - and again in Kerr s final season as a athlete in - when he won his second NBA title with the band But the two would develop a close friendship beyond basketball with Popovich s willingness to speak up on social issues profoundly impacting Kerr s desire to do the same with his sizeable platform particularly regarding racial inequality and gun control I was inspired by Pop to have the courage to speak out and take the hits that you re going to take if you do Kerr announced I knew how much he loved his country and I knew how much his Air Force experience meant to him And I think that conviction combined with say the shenanigans of this century politically all the B S kind of started right around that time the turn of the century where between social media and buffoonery politically we just got into this current era we re in where everybody s screaming at each other So I think he already had the conviction but he saw what was happening and he wished to make sure he spoke out Related Articles Gregg Popovich the NBA s all-time wins leader retires after seasons as San Antonio Spurs coach How to watch Warriors-Rockets Tournament Four keys for the Warriors to win Event and eliminate the Rockets Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Championship tape I m not sure we learned a whole lot Kurtenbach The Rockets zone defense has the Warriors in the danger zone Although the two would sometimes jokingly take shots at each other through the media there was invariably a deep well of respect between them The two had enough in common that people speculated that the two would form a presidential ticket A website www popovichkerr com was created and featured mugs and T-shirts in the style of campaign posters He presumably was one of the first coaches in the modern generation to really speak out on politics and social injustices Kerr announced of Popovich Kerr added that legendary former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith helped break down racial limitations in the South by refusing to take his gang to certain places to play or stay or eat I think Pop is kind of in that Dean Smith mode of seeing the bigger picture beyond sports and those are the coaches who really stand out to me I instantly think of Jackson in that regard just the guys who recognize the importance of sports and yet relative unimportance and find that balance and that perspective and then make an impact societally and that s where Pop is