After the San Antonio Spurs fell short in Game 3, legendary former head coach Gregg Popovich went straight into their locker room to deliver an important message about their lapses.
In speaking of the postgame show Sunday, De’Aaron Fox shared moments with Popovich, who entered the locker room for the first time throughout the season.
“Pop’s been around throughout the course of the season, 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,’” Fox said in response to a question by NBC panelist Tracy McGrady. “That was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.”
With the Spurs dominating the Thunder in Game 4, Fox gave value to the message as the entire team and coaching staff listened.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that,” Fox told NBC. “Trainers, everybody’s in there. We close the doors, we don’t let anybody know what’s going on in here. … We open that door, we see Pop come in, and it’s like, ‘Awwww.’”
Spurs rookie forward Carter Bryant said Popovich’s message was simple: Be better, per The Athletic.
“Nothing more, nothing less,” Bryant told The Athletic. “I mean, it’s a direct message, and the best thing when you’re in a situation like this is a direct message. So to us, we had to be better, we came out executing and we saw the outcome (in Game 4).”
The 77-year-old legend officially retired from coaching last summer after suffering a stroke at the beginning of the 2024-25 season but retains the title of president of basketball operations.
“He gives feedback and talks to us regularly throughout our series, throughout our games. As always, when he speaks, everybody listens,” Victor Wembanyama said earlier in the playoffs.
