Gregg Popovich left Wednesday’s game in Oklahoma City a winner — something he’s done more often than all but one coach in NBA history.
With his 1,333rd career victory, the iconic coach of the San Antonio Spurs broke a tie with Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens to claim sole possession of the No. 2 spot in all-time NBA coaching wins.
Three more, and Popovich will be alone at the top. Don Nelson holds the current coaching wins record with 1,335.
Since taking over as the Spurs head coach in 1997, Popovich has made the Spurs synonymous with competence at their worst and dominance at their best. Behind his guidance and Hall-of-Fame talents like David Robinson and Tim Duncan, the Spurs won five NBA championships between 1999 and 2014. Last week Popovich was named one of the 15 Greatest Coaches in league history, an honor given to mark the NBA’s 75th anniversary season.
The three-time NBA coach of the Year is one of just six coaches to have worked more than 2,000 regular season games and 26 seasons or more. His career win percentage of .659 is the best in that group. In addition to his NBA accomplishments, Popovich also owns a gold medal from coaching the 2020 Team USA Olympic team.
