"I get mesmerized watching Michael on the court" - Gregg Popovich compares watching modern-day LeBron James to witnessing Michael Jordan play in the 1980s
In a pre-game press conference on Monday, Gregg Popovich talked about the similarities between Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Jordan started dominating the league in the late 1980s before taking over in the 1990s, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Long-time San Antonio Spurs head coach Popovich was an assistant to Larry Brown when Jordan was a one-man wrecking crew.
On Monday, Popovich discussed a variety of topics, including Jordan and James. The Spurs were taking on the LA Lakers later that night at the AT&T Center, with James out with a minor left knee injury.
One of the topics the coach delved into was a comparison between Jordan and James when they were young. The 73-year-old coaching legend couldn't help but reminisce about how good Jordan was before praising James.
"It's kind of like when I first came to the league back in the 80s as an assistant coach. I get mesmerized watching Michael on the court, and you know, I wasn't much help to Larry Brown. I'm watching Michael and I do that LeBron. He'll do things. He'll look over once in a while and smirk," Popovich said.
Before becoming the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in 1996, Popovich served as an assistant coach to Larry Brown from 1988 to 1992. He then moved to the Golden State Warriors for a brief stint from 1992 to 1994 before returning to the Spurs as the general manager and eventual head coach.
Michael Jordan faced Popovich six times. Jordan won four of those meetings, averaging 32.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals against the Spurs in 24 games.
San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA title after Michael Jordan retired
Michael Jordan retired for a second time in 1998 after winning his sixth NBA championship. After the lockout ended in 1999, Gregg Popovich went on to coach the San Antonio Spurs to their first-ever NBA title, beating the New York Knicks in five games.
Jordan's Bulls never faced that Spurs team in NBA Finals, but it would have been a fun matchup. Jordan was still at his peak at the time of his second retirement, while San Antonio had the twin towers of Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
The dream matchup would have also given fans an NBA Finals between Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. The legends are regarded as two of the greatest coaches in league history.
Jackson has the advantage in NBA titles won with 11 compared to Popovich's five. However, Popovich is the winningest head coach in NBA history (regular season and playoffs). He is now just one win away from breaking Don Nelson's record of 1,335 regular-season victories.