SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama barely could get the words out.
The question, a few minutes after he and the San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference title and earned the right to go to this year's NBA Finals to face the New York Knicks, was about his relationship with former coach Gregg Popovich and what this playoff run likely means to the winningest coach in league history.
And Wembanyama paused, clearly emotional, before starting his answer.
“I don’t know what it means for him,” Wembanyama said. “That’s a guy who’s got more experience as a coach than almost anybody and has been through so many things in his career and so many things right now as ‘El Jefe.’ He goes through some things we can’t even imagine. So, I need to call him. I need to see him. I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels.”
The official title for the 77-year-old Popovich is President of Spurs Basketball. Unofficially, the Basketball Hall of Famer may as well be coach emeritus — still regularly seen at practices in San Antonio, still seen at games, sometimes walking with the assistance of a cane. He's still in the ears of players and coaches, even visiting the locker room after the Spurs lost Game 3 of the West finals to Oklahoma City for a bit of a pep talk and bit of a chewing out, depending on perspective.
But really, he's El Jefe. The boss. It's what he announced himself as when he retired last year, speaking publicly for the first time since the November 2024 stroke that essentially ended his coaching career and led to Mitch Johnson getting the job on basically a couple hours' notice. He came out for that event in a jacket, then opened it to display the shirt with “El Jefe” on the front.
“You talk about the greatest coach pretty much of all time to be able to sit here and tell you the experiences that they went through or that he’s been through or that he sees," Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “I mean, it’s second to none, honestly. He helps out. He helps out a lot. ... He just has so much wisdom and stuff that you can’t take for granted.”
Game 1 of the Knicks-Spurs series is Wednesday in San Antonio.
Knicks coach Mike Brown saw first-hand how Popovich operated the Spurs; he spent three years as an assistant coach under him in San Antonio.
Brown still has family members living in San Antonio — causing him to joke a few days ago that a Knicks-Spurs matchup in the NBA Finals would save him a little bit of money because he wouldn't have to fly as many people in to see games.
“He still has a huge presence. He will always have a presence," Brown said of Popovich. “The job that he’s done, not only on the court with that team or that organization but off the court too, is going to be imprinted for as long as the game of basketball exists. His presence is very, very much felt all the time and I’ve got a lot of respect for the organization for a lot of different reasons.”
And Popovich still commands that respect, even now.
Popovich met the Spurs at the airport after they flew home from Games 3 and 4 of their West semifinal series against Minnesota a couple weeks ago — for a purpose. Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 for a flagrant elbow he threw at Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. When Wembanyama got off the plane, Popovich was waiting. Cameras caught the exchange and it was pretty clear that Popovich was doing the talking and Wembanyama was doing the listening.
“He gives feedback and talks to us regularly,” Wembanyama said, without disclosing what Popovich's message was that afternoon.
Popovich won five NBA championships as San Antonio's coach, the first of those coming in 1999 when the Spurs beat the New York Knicks. The next era of Spurs basketball is here, with Johnson coaching, and it's an interesting coincidence that his first finals as Spurs coach is against the Knicks.
“I’m fortunate my old boss is still around, and has been through this a few times,” Johnson said. “Coach Pop has been a resource.”
And in the immediate aftermath of his biggest win yet — the one that got him to his first of what he hopes is many NBA Finals — Wembanyama simply could not wait to talk to El Jefe.
When I talk to him, it’s going to be only stored in my head — except if I record it in secret," Wembanyama said. “But I need to talk to him, so quick.”
There are more lessons to learn. There are four more wins to get. And Wembanyama knows that if anyone truly knows the way to those wins, it's Popovich.
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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in Greenburgh, New York, contributed.
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