Written by Michael C. Wright at ESPN.com
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich tied the NBA record for the most career wins with one franchise Thursday night, capturing his 1,127th in a 102-86 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers.
“When you get all those wins, it’s just a longevity thing more than anything,” Popovich said. “So I’m thankful for having the job for a while.”
Popovich tied the record set by Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz, thanks in part to the Spurs forcing a season-high 24 turnovers, while Kawhi Leonard led the way with 19 points, two steals and two blocks. Popovich modeled much of what he’s doing in San Antonio after what Sloan accomplished over 23 seasons in Utah.
Popovich matched Sloan’s feat in two fewer seasons while winning five NBA championships but said the latter “is in a different league than me.”
“[Utah] was then and still is a class organization, and we tried to do it similarly to them as far as how we conducted the program, what we expected, how to do it, how to keep it to yourself and that sort of thing,” Popovich said.
The Spurs helped Popovich to accomplish his latest milestone despite playing without top frontcourt players LaMarcus Aldridge (sore right knee) and Pau Gasol (fractured fourth metacarpal in left hand), but Philadelphia was even more shorthanded as Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington sat out.
San Antonio finished with seven double-figure scorers, including Leonard and
Dewayne Dedmon (13 points and 10 rebounds), who recorded his second double-double as a Spur. Davis Bertans, Patty Mills, Danny Green and David Lee each contributed 12 points apiece, while Jonathon Simmons contributed 11.
Green said he was “surprised” Popovich hadn’t passed up Sloan sooner in career victories.
“It was only a matter of time because of the guys he brings in; the organization he has here, how successful it’s been here before I got here, and I’m sure after I’m gone he’ll continue to win games and be successful,” Green said.
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