With the announcement of Gregg Popovich’s retirement earlier this month, Sean Elliott sat with KENS 5 anchor Bill Taylor and spoke candidly about Pop.
Taylor hinted to the once believed legend that when Tim Duncan retired, Pop was going to follow him off the court and into the tunnel, exiting the game in unison.
When Popovich’s wife passed away in 2018, he dove deeper into coaching.
With the Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard wanting out, and a trepidatious DeMar DeRozan entering the picture, Pop stayed on through the transition.
As the Spurs legend illuminated, it was more than support for the players.
“When Erin was gone I think he dove deeper into his players into coaching because he needed that,” he stated.
Elliott also revealed that he believed Pop was set to retire in the summer of 2023, until it was announced that the Spurs had acquired the number one overall pick.
After the lottery reveal, Elliott describes Pop as “reenergized.”
Elliott told Pop, “right now you can’t retire. You have a responsibility to this young man. You gotta show him how to prepare, to be professional. You have to show him what you showed Timmy, in the same type of way, give him the foundation.”
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