Shawnelle Scott may not be the first name that comes to mind when fans remember former Spurs players, but the former NBA center spent one year with the Silver & Black.
In a flurry of praise coming from every corner of the NBA after Gregg Popovich’s retirement announcement twelve days ago, Scott’s article via The Athletic’s Peak underscores just how Popovich touched every player on his roster. Pop left an indelible imprint on every player no matter how big or small their role, no matter how long they played, no matter their impact on the team.
Pop has always lived and spoken bigger than basketball and Scott was one of the beneficiaries of the coach’s insight.
These were Scott’s first thoughts upon meeting the Spurs coach in 2000.
The first thing Gregg Popovich ever told me was: “You’ve got to get in shape.”
I thought I was in very good shape, so in my head, I was like, “What?! You guys just signed me!”
I felt like I had a second chance that season. I’d been out of the NBA for a couple of years when the Spurs brought me in. So I was absorbing everything.
Scott observed how Pop handled accountability twoard his superstars in the same vein as any player on the roster. He also noted how Pop managed expectations.
One game, we played the Lakers, and Shaq was killing us. He was just having his way. Eventually, Pop called out David Robinson in front of everyone.
David was like, “Pop, what are you getting on me for? The guy’s 300 pounds!”
The whole locker room laughed, man, but it showed me something about Pop. This guy was the same with everyone.
A loss did not result the team being berated or stressed, Pop went back to basics.
I knew we had practice the next day, and I was thinking in my head, “Oh my God. Practice is going to be ridiculous.” I thought Pop was going to chew everybody out.
But it was the exact opposite. Practice was non-contact. We just went over all our offensive sets, every last one of them. Just the basics of everything. Details. We didn’t execute that day we played the Bulls, and the next day he made sure we knew every single set so we’d execute the next time.
Pop’s demeanor raised Scott’s own expectations for himself. Scott went on to earn two master’s degrees and now coaches in his native New York at the high school level, utilizing the foundation he received in one season with the San Antonio Spurs.
But his words stuck with me. I held onto them… he took me to another level I didn’t know I had.
Welcome to The Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, do not troll and watch the language.