San Antonio Spurs president of basketball operations and head coach Gregg Popovich is now the highest-paid head coach in the NBA after signing a new five-year contract.
Popovich, 74, is entering Year 28 coaching the Spurs and now has a fresh challenge after selecting Victor Wembanyama as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. San Antonio had the same odds as the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets of landing the top pick; but lucked out in the NBA Draft Lottery.
After falling to fifth in the draw, despite ending last season with the worst record in the league, the Pistons filled their coaching vacancy with fired Phoenix Suns boss Monty Williams on a lucrative contract. The 2022 NBA Coach of the Year signed a six-year, $78.5 million (£61m) deal to join the team.
A month after the hire became official, the Spurs have usurped the Pistons again. Popovich has signed an extension reportedly worth over $80 million (£62m+), per ESPN.
After the announcement, Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James notably reacted by congratulating the Spurs coach. "POP!!!!!! Congrats on the new deal," James tweeted. "Next wine dinner on you."
The message marking the occasion is no surprise as the pair both hold each other in the highest of regards. As far back as the summer of 2016, James was dubbing Popovich "the greatest NBA coach of all time" to USA TODAY Sports.
Earlier that year, the then-Cleveland Cavaliers player also waxed lyrical about his long-time adversary. "I've studied a lot from the outside looking in,” James said. "I can't be there on a day-to-day basis. I wish I could.
"I believe he’s one of the great basketball minds that we’ve ever had in this game, and I wish I could be around him every day to kind of just pick his brain and see what he does, what he thinks.
"I believe I think the game, I’m not going to say in a similar fashion because he has more experience than me, but I think I have a high basketball IQ, too."
James knows all too well how good Popovich's Spurs teams have been over the years. After leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, San Antonio swept Cleveland in four games.
After moving on to the Miami Heat, James got revenge in the 2013 Finals in seven games, but Popovich would have the last laugh a year later. With the Heat heading towards a three-peat, the Spurs stood in their way and sealed a five-game victory to win a fifth championship.
Almost a decade on now, James is one ring away from having a whole hand and matching Popovich. The race is now on to see who, if either, adds another to their collection next before eventually retiring from basketball and the NBA.
