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By Maury Jackson, For The African-American Athlete
There is no question Gregg Popovich will go down as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all-time.
Despite the Spurs being swept by the loaded Golden State Warriors, there has been no criticism whatsoever of the five-time NBA champion head coach. The witty, sarcastic, coach of the Spurs deserves no criticism for their performance in the Western Conference Final. In examining Popovich’s career, perhaps the only noticeable blemish was taking Tim Duncan out in the final seconds Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, leading to the offensive of rebound, and game-winning three by Miami’s Ray Allen.
Against the Warriors, the absence of MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, along with an aging Pau Gasol and 39-year-old Manu Ginobili, proved to be detrimental. Coming off the retirement of Duncan, the makeup of the Spurs roster seems to be changing dramatically. Popovich has been at the helm of the Spurs since 1996, and he may be looking to retire in the near future himself as the ‘Big Three’ era has come to an end.
There’s no reason to not like Popovich as a coach, but it has not been a secret that the Spurs aren’t known to have a plethora of African-Americans on their teams in years past. Over the years, the percentage of blacks in the NBA have ranged in the 70 percentile. This year, the majority of the Spurs roster is black, with the pickup of Lamarcus Aldridge, along with young players such as Jonathon Simmons and Dejounte Murray.
Despite the current roster, there are NBA fans who believe the Spurs have made an effort to center their team around foreign and caucasian players. Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter, and Beno Udrih are examples of prime role players that fit that bill in the past for the Spurs. Maybe this is the case of the franchise appealing to the city, and its fanbase in its best way?
Maybe it is just a coincidence. Or maybe Popovich and the Spurs organization tries to avoid black players in some situations?
There have been a number of black players for the Spurs in the past, from David Robinson to Tim Duncan. The current superstar of the Spurs, Leonard, is black. Perhaps the Spurs have no problem taking less controversial players such as Duncan and Leonard, and avoiding more boisterous, outspoken players in the NBA.
This is not a knock on Popovich’s career or on the Spurs organization whatsoever, just realization. What team doesn’t aspire for high character, coachable athletes?
In the past, the Spurs have never been the type to have locker room problems or coach-player issues because they’ve always had such cooperative, high-character guys. There is still no reason to not discuss what’s been on the minds of several black players around the country.
Do Popovich and the Spurs look to avoid American black players in some ways?
One would never even imagine an Allen Iverson or Draymond Green even having a chance of playing for the Spurs. In this year’s NBA Draft Combine and in previous years, analysts would always mention what a ‘Spurs’ kind of player is.
Former Spurs player Stephen Jackson was certainly a fiery guy during his career, and had a lot to say about Popovich on ESPN’s ‘The Dan LeBatard Show.’ Jackson mentions how he felt disrespected by Pop because of the way he treated him in 2013.
“In San Antonio when I was asked to say other players were better than me to help their confidence so they can play better,” Jackson said. “That was the most disrespectful thing that I’ve ever heard from any coach in my life. But at the same time I was dealing with the smartest coach I ever met in my life.”
According to Jackson, Popovich asked him to admit Danny Green and Manu Ginobili were better players, and that the Spurs needed them over him going forward.
At the end of the day, one cannot critique, or criticize the coaching ability of a five-time champion. Popovich has built his teams the way he wants, and in turn he has been successful because of that.
This topic is nothing to bash coach Popovich, or insinuate that he’s prejudice. Yet and still, there is reason for discussion and debate as some people in the black community have noticed this about the Spurs.
All-in-all, it was another impressive year by the Spurs, and their coach Gregg Popovich. But how the Spurs construct their roster from year to year is something to keep your eye on.
