Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox shared the story after San Antonio’s 103-82 Game 4 win on Sunday night, which tied the Western Conference finals at 2-2. Fox described Popovich walking into the postgame locker room with “choice words” for the team.
“Pop’s been around like throughout the course of the season,” Fox said. “But that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, nah, that’s BS, that’s not how we play basketball. Obviously, he had some choice words for it. That was the first time all season he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.”
The Spurs had let a 15-0 lead slip in Game 3, allowing the Thunder to outscore them by 30 points in the remainder of the game, resulting in a 123-108 defeat. Popovich’s direct approach appears to have resonated, as the Spurs responded with a dominant performance in Game 4, controlling the game from start to finish.
Although Popovich retired last season as the NBA’s all-time winningest head coach with 1,390 victories, he remains an influential presence for the Spurs as a mentor to head coach Mitch Johnson and the current roster. Known affectionately as “El Jefe,” Popovich continues to provide guidance, strategy, and occasionally, a needed dose of tough love.
San Antonio now heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 5, with the Western Conference finals wide open and the Thunder forced to respond. Popovich’s input, even in a non-coaching capacity, could prove critical as the Spurs pursue their first NBA title of the post-Popovich era.
