NBA coach Popovich reaches record of 1,335 career victories

“I hope my record will be broken soon,” said former Golden State head coach Don Nelson with the NBA’s highest career win record of 1,335 wins as an NBA head coach. It wasn’t a vague hope. Nelson pointed to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and said, “I think he can break my record.”

As Nelson wished, Popovich is just one win away to break the record. The San Antonio Spurs led by the coach won a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers held at the AT&T Center in Texas on Tuesday. Dejounte Murray led the team to a win with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. With the latest win, Popovich tied Nelson’s record of 1,335 career wins.

Popovich began coaching the San Antonio Spurs from the 1996-1997 season. For 22 consecutive years from the 1997-1998 season to the 2018-2019 season, he led the team to advance to the playoffs and won five times. He was named three times as the coach of the year and also selected as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history.

The history of Popovich and Nelson is a typical example of a student surpassing his teacher. Nelson who was serving as the coach of the Golden State Warriors hired Popovich as an assistant coach in the 1992-1993 season. Nelson held a winning rate of 55.7 percent – 1,335 wins out of 2,398 matches – while Popovich has a winning rate of 65.8 percent – 1,335 wins out of 2,028 games. Popovich has caught up Nelson’s record of 1,335 wins in 30 years since the 1976-1977 season in just 26 years.


leper@donga.com