July 2, 2025 • 7 mins
Looking back on Coach Pop & his lasting effect on the franchise.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
If you are apt to logging onto the Sports Illustrated
website SI dot com in their digital that's their digital version,
which you don't have to pay for the subscription, I guess.
But there is a pretty lengthy story from Jack McCallan
about coach Pop Nice. Most of it's revision as history,
(00:24):
and most of it we know. But the headline shows
him on the sideline back in the days when coaches
wore jackets and shirts instead of the warm up pullover.
Uh And it's the tow of of Pop t a O, Okay,
that's how that's the that's the headline of I guess
(00:44):
that's kind of the zen if you will, of how
Pop does things are It's the natural way of the universe,
is how TAW is defined.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I don't look at Pop and tow or or Zen
in the same like Zen is always going to be.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I think he's one of the most cerebral thinkers in
the history of time. I think everything he does is planned, calculated,
planned out, and that's what's made him great is And
I just wish that the NBA would have eliminated the
end of quarter interviews. I know we got some funny
(01:21):
moments with Pop on those But we got a version
of Pop that that's what everybody thinks he is, and
sometimes he may be, But I do think when it
comes to players and protecting players and making sure that
they're taking care of for games, that's the thing he
cares the most about. And when he says, yeah, I
(01:41):
won thirteen hundred games, but so what my best friend
is Tim Duncan, the fact that Tim Duncan is his
best friend is more important than the thirteen hundred wins.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
How kind of how cool is that to be like, yeah,
my best friend is Tim Duncan.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah? Yeah, but what do.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You even talk to Tim about? Tim doesn't even want to.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Maybe Pop's the only one that ever got anything out
of him.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
That's because he gave him all that. What was it
the carrot cake?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I think that's that's what it was. He didn't give
him my carrot cake. I'm not into carrot cake. You
can tell we've run out of things to talk about.
When we're talking about carrot cake.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I'm talking about the Sports Illustrated story on Pop. That's
what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
When are pictures picture is going to be announced for
All Star Think this weekend this weekend yeah, all right, Well, anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
You should read this article if you want to a
revisionist history on Pop and it goes back to him
becoming general manager. It comes through the Bob Hill days,
it takes him over the team. It talks about the uh,
the drafting of Duncan, and then the history that followed
after that. You know, I'll say this though, it is
(02:50):
amazing how one thing can make or break somebody's life,
you know, just a moment of fate. And in the
after the lockout when Pop was given basically you know,
it was Duncan's second season, I believe, or maybe it
was his third season, because that's when they won the
(03:10):
NBA Championship, the first one and they had the shortened season,
fifty game season. The Spurs started the year off to
a slow start and they were just starting to figure
out rotations and all that, and they got blown out
a home game against Utah on a Sunday afternoon, and
I remember doing game day or game night react after
and everybody was like freaking out, we gotta go, it's
(03:33):
we got to change now, get get him out of here.
It's not going to work. And then two nights later,
they're playing in Houston and they're down eighteen I think
at the half and the what is it? The Vultures
were at the front door, and they came back and
won that game and then won forty seven of their
next fifty three games.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So Shane, they were pretty good.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, I think forty seven and fifty three around ninety
percent of something. But it was it was just a
couple of things happened to start the third quarter where
they erased the league. They came back to beat Houston,
and then they won forty seven of the next fifty
three games to win a championship. And there was several
stretches where they won multiple games in a row during
(04:14):
that time. So yeah, it's uh. And and if you
didn't also here today, the NBA rescinded the wins and
losses that Mitch Johnson got in the seventy seven games
where he was the interim head coach. Those wins and
losses now are on Mitch's record and have been taken.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Off of Pops, which I still here's an explanation.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't know, I don't know why, but my guess
is is that he'd if he were if he had
come back, if he was coming back next year to coach,
then those those wins and losses would have been there
because he would have still been in an interim situation.
But it was pretty clear I think by February March
(04:56):
April that he wasn't going to be able to coach again,
and he didn't. That was not the move that they
were going to have to make. So let's it was
really Mitch's team anyway. But I do think there's going
to be a big difference going into this season because
he was not given the title by the organization head coach.
It was always interim head coach. And I think when
(05:18):
you have somebody that has the Hall of fame resume
that you're succeeding, and there's always that talk about you
don't want to be the one that follows the legend,
you want to be the one that follows the one
that followed the legend. I think that there's always some
hesitation when you're making a decision to think to yourself, well,
what would POP do in this situation instead of what
(05:39):
would I do in this situation? And now he gets
to make a decision based on what he wants to do,
and if if it works, it's on him if it
doesn't work, it's on him and he doesn't have to
play the what if or what would somebody else do? Game.
I think he'll have a much freer load when it comes.
He may not agree with that, but I just think
in the back of your mind, when you're filling in
(06:01):
for somebody, you want to protect the integrity of that
person that you're feeling filling in for.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I one hundred percent agree. I one hundred percent agree
on that one. So well, we'll see what happens, though.
I again, I would still love an explanation of why
why they just decided to take all of his wins
away and that didn't count, so that's it. I just
want an explanation. It doesn't have to be a good explanation.
(06:30):
It can just be well, we felt like doing it, Mike, Okay, well,
at least you give me an explanation.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
You know, Well that mean said everything I read, there
was no explanation. My guess is is that they just
felt that it was Mitch's team on November second, and
since Pop never came back, we'll just give the wins
and losses, sayd. It changes Pop's winning percentage a little bit,
but he's still the I mean, of the thirty four wins,
(06:55):
what were twenty seven of those go to Mitch, But
so to all the losses they go to Pop. So
percentage wise his record's probably a little bit more, but
I'm sure he could care less about that. Yeah, all right,
that'll do it for today's show. We're back tomorrow and
then off on Friday. We'll see you in twenty one hours.
Thanks to Shane and to Michael Into you for being
part of the day, and we'll see you tomorrow at four.
(07:16):
It's The Indie Average Show on the Ticket. Hi everyone,
it's Andy Everett. Thank you for listening to this podcast
version of The Indie Average Show. Don't forget to join
us Monday through Friday from four to seven. We'll have
all the latest sports news every single day of the week.
You can also participate in the show via our talkback
(07:38):
feature on the iHeartRadio app, the Tickets seven sixty, where
you can leave us a message that we may put
on the air. Join us next time The Indie Average
Show sports Radio AM seven sixty, The Ticket
If you are apt to logging onto the Sports Illustrated
website SI dot com in their digital that's their digital version,
which you don't have to pay for the subscription, I guess.
But there is a pretty lengthy story from Jack McCallan
about coach Pop Nice. Most of it's revision as history,
(00:24):
and most of it we know. But the headline shows
him on the sideline back in the days when coaches
wore jackets and shirts instead of the warm up pullover.
Uh And it's the tow of of Pop t a O, Okay,
that's how that's the that's the headline of I guess
(00:44):
that's kind of the zen if you will, of how
Pop does things are It's the natural way of the universe,
is how TAW is defined.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I don't look at Pop and tow or or Zen
in the same like Zen is always going to be.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I think he's one of the most cerebral thinkers in
the history of time. I think everything he does is planned, calculated,
planned out, and that's what's made him great is And
I just wish that the NBA would have eliminated the
end of quarter interviews. I know we got some funny
(01:21):
moments with Pop on those But we got a version
of Pop that that's what everybody thinks he is, and
sometimes he may be, But I do think when it
comes to players and protecting players and making sure that
they're taking care of for games, that's the thing he
cares the most about. And when he says, yeah, I
(01:41):
won thirteen hundred games, but so what my best friend
is Tim Duncan, the fact that Tim Duncan is his
best friend is more important than the thirteen hundred wins.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
How kind of how cool is that to be like, yeah,
my best friend is Tim Duncan.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah? Yeah, but what do.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You even talk to Tim about? Tim doesn't even want to.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Maybe Pop's the only one that ever got anything out
of him.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
That's because he gave him all that. What was it
the carrot cake?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I think that's that's what it was. He didn't give
him my carrot cake. I'm not into carrot cake. You
can tell we've run out of things to talk about.
When we're talking about carrot cake.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I'm talking about the Sports Illustrated story on Pop. That's
what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
When are pictures picture is going to be announced for
All Star Think this weekend this weekend yeah, all right, Well, anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
You should read this article if you want to a
revisionist history on Pop and it goes back to him
becoming general manager. It comes through the Bob Hill days,
it takes him over the team. It talks about the uh,
the drafting of Duncan, and then the history that followed
after that. You know, I'll say this though, it is
(02:50):
amazing how one thing can make or break somebody's life,
you know, just a moment of fate. And in the
after the lockout when Pop was given basically you know,
it was Duncan's second season, I believe, or maybe it
was his third season, because that's when they won the
(03:10):
NBA Championship, the first one and they had the shortened season,
fifty game season. The Spurs started the year off to
a slow start and they were just starting to figure
out rotations and all that, and they got blown out
a home game against Utah on a Sunday afternoon, and
I remember doing game day or game night react after
and everybody was like freaking out, we gotta go, it's
(03:33):
we got to change now, get get him out of here.
It's not going to work. And then two nights later,
they're playing in Houston and they're down eighteen I think
at the half and the what is it? The Vultures
were at the front door, and they came back and
won that game and then won forty seven of their
next fifty three games.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So Shane, they were pretty good.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, I think forty seven and fifty three around ninety
percent of something. But it was it was just a
couple of things happened to start the third quarter where
they erased the league. They came back to beat Houston,
and then they won forty seven of the next fifty
three games to win a championship. And there was several
stretches where they won multiple games in a row during
(04:14):
that time. So yeah, it's uh. And and if you
didn't also here today, the NBA rescinded the wins and
losses that Mitch Johnson got in the seventy seven games
where he was the interim head coach. Those wins and
losses now are on Mitch's record and have been taken.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Off of Pops, which I still here's an explanation.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't know, I don't know why, but my guess
is is that he'd if he were if he had
come back, if he was coming back next year to coach,
then those those wins and losses would have been there
because he would have still been in an interim situation.
But it was pretty clear I think by February March
(04:56):
April that he wasn't going to be able to coach again,
and he didn't. That was not the move that they
were going to have to make. So let's it was
really Mitch's team anyway. But I do think there's going
to be a big difference going into this season because
he was not given the title by the organization head coach.
It was always interim head coach. And I think when
(05:18):
you have somebody that has the Hall of fame resume
that you're succeeding, and there's always that talk about you
don't want to be the one that follows the legend,
you want to be the one that follows the one
that followed the legend. I think that there's always some
hesitation when you're making a decision to think to yourself, well,
what would POP do in this situation instead of what
(05:39):
would I do in this situation? And now he gets
to make a decision based on what he wants to do,
and if if it works, it's on him if it
doesn't work, it's on him and he doesn't have to
play the what if or what would somebody else do? Game.
I think he'll have a much freer load when it comes.
He may not agree with that, but I just think
in the back of your mind, when you're filling in
(06:01):
for somebody, you want to protect the integrity of that
person that you're feeling filling in for.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I one hundred percent agree. I one hundred percent agree
on that one. So well, we'll see what happens, though.
I again, I would still love an explanation of why
why they just decided to take all of his wins
away and that didn't count, so that's it. I just
want an explanation. It doesn't have to be a good explanation.
(06:30):
It can just be well, we felt like doing it, Mike, Okay, well,
at least you give me an explanation.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
You know, Well that mean said everything I read, there
was no explanation. My guess is is that they just
felt that it was Mitch's team on November second, and
since Pop never came back, we'll just give the wins
and losses, sayd. It changes Pop's winning percentage a little bit,
but he's still the I mean, of the thirty four wins,
(06:55):
what were twenty seven of those go to Mitch, But
so to all the losses they go to Pop. So
percentage wise his record's probably a little bit more, but
I'm sure he could care less about that. Yeah, all right,
that'll do it for today's show. We're back tomorrow and
then off on Friday. We'll see you in twenty one hours.
Thanks to Shane and to Michael Into you for being
part of the day, and we'll see you tomorrow at four.
(07:16):
It's The Indie Average Show on the Ticket. Hi everyone,
it's Andy Everett. Thank you for listening to this podcast
version of The Indie Average Show. Don't forget to join
us Monday through Friday from four to seven. We'll have
all the latest sports news every single day of the week.
You can also participate in the show via our talkback
(07:38):
feature on the iHeartRadio app, the Tickets seven sixty, where
you can leave us a message that we may put
on the air. Join us next time The Indie Average
Show sports Radio AM seven sixty, The Ticket
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