Greatest starting 5 coached by Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich will be coaching the San Antonio Spurs for the 25th consecutive NBA season. Last season, 'Pop' and the Spurs missed the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1997. Popovich has been the Spurs' coach since 1996 and has led the franchise to five NBA championships. With that in mind, we will list the best starting five out of the great players he has coached.
5 Greatest players coached by Gregg Popovich per position
Gregg Popovich coached the Spurs for the first time on December 10th, 1996. He was the team's General Manager before he fired head coach Bob Hill due to the team's 3-15 start to the 1996-97 NBA season.
Under Popovich, the team went 17-47 to end that season. David Robinson, the best player on that team, only played six games in that year due to a preseason injury and a foot injury in December.
Ultimately, the Spurs got the first overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, and they turned it into Tim Duncan. Duncan became the greatest player in the franchise's history and led the team to five NBA championships.
With the Spurs, Gregg Popovich has won 1,277 games in his coaching career (third all-time). Moreover, he has the third-highest win tally in the NBA Playoffs with 170.
With that in mind, let us take a look at the five greatest players who helped Gregg Popovich reach that status in the league.
Point Guard - Tony Parker
Tony Parker got drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.
The Frenchman entered the league as a 19-year-old, and Gregg Popovich put him as a starter in 72 games during the 2001-02 NBA season.
As a young player under a coach with an NBA title already, Parker evolved and became a future Hall of Famer.
Under Gregg Popovich, Parker became a six-time All-Star and a three-time All-NBA player.
Parker averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 assists per game in his 17-year tenure with the San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich.
The Frenchman earned Finals MVP recognition in 2007 when they beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Shooting Guard - Manu Ginóbili
Manu Ginóbili was one of the San Antonio Spurs' best players during four of the franchise's five championships.
The Spurs and Gregg Popovich drafted the Argentine legend with the 57th overall pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. However, Ginóbili made his NBA debut in 2002 after spending three years playing in Italy.
As an NBA rookie, Ginóbili averaged nine points per game in the NBA Playoffs and made 39 percent of his three-pointers.
The Spurs went on to win the 2003 NBA title, with Gregg Popovich playing Ginóbili for more than 28 minutes per game in The Finals.
In his 16 years in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich, Ginóbili became a Sixth Man of the Year award winner, a two-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA player.
Ginóbili formed the most successful Big Three in NBA history (in terms of wins), alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
He averaged 13 points, four assists, and four rebounds per game in his career. Ginóbili spent his entire career with Gregg Popovich as his coach.