Gregg Popovich is undeniably one of the greatest All-Time coaches. Five times champion with the San Antonio Spurs, the most successful coach in NBA history, he and his dynasty have won everything. But off the court, Pop is an equally impressive character.
Very close to his players, he is described as a fatherly presence in the Spurs locker room. But in the face of the media, he wants to preserve his private life. He doesn’t particularly like interviews and prefers to keep certain things to himself. So we know Gregg Popovich, the coach, but few actually know him as a person.
Ken Rodriguez of the San Antonio Report spent two months digging into the subject. And as you might expect, it turns out that Popovich is one of the most generous personalities in the league.
Gregg Popovich, grand philanthrope
The coach wants to keep his acts of philanthropy to himself. His entourage respects this decision and refuses to disclose what he himself would not make public. But that doesn’t stop some association leaders from telling how the American basketball legend has helped them.
If he does not want to dwell on the subject, the commitment of Gregg Popovich speaks for itself. For two decades, he has served on the board of the Food Bank of San Antonio. The agglomeration of more than 1.5 million inhabitants is the most disadvantaged large city in the United States.
The Spurs coach therefore works with Eric Cooper, the president of the Food Bank, to raise funds and establish strategies to feed the poorest. He also contributes to the cause, with food and financial donations.
“Millions of dollars have been raised through his leadership and commitment. But he likes to keep it private. […] He’s much better at giving compliments than receiving them,” Cooper said.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovich used the time freed up by the season’s hiatus to help out the homeless. Haven for Hope, a campus that houses and feeds 1,500 people a day, received his personal and financial support. A moment that the volunteers are not about to forget.
“It wasn’t just once. It was every week for almost six weeks. He helped our team financially and funded events for them. He talked to them about leadership during an hour-long call and thanked them for what they were doing. And he let them know how important they were to San Antonio. It was amazing.”remembers Kim Jefferies, the president of the association.
Meredith Kennedy, director of the Innocence Network, also has fond memories of Gregg Popovich. She still remembers her tears, in 2017, during a conference of the Innocence Project, a group that fights to prove the innocence of people convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Touched by the story of former detainees exonerated, the Spurs coach decided to add his stone to the building. After meeting some of them, he invited them to matches in San Antonio. The opportunity for the Innocence Project to discuss with the team, at the initiative of the coach.
Since then, Pop has renewed its commitment to this cause year after year. During a fundraiser on May 4, Popovich notably donated $1 million to the organization.
“He has recorded PSAs for the Innocence Network’s Day Against Wrongful Convictions every year since 2017. He has been extremely generous with both his personal resources and his time”says Kennedy.
These are just a few examples among many. When huge storms hit the Virgin Islands, home territory of Tim Duncan, the coach intervened immediately. When a Haitian organization needed it, he raised the necessary funds to support it.
All this without really being heard of. It would undoubtedly be a great way to put yourself forward and to take care of your image, but the actions of Gregg Popovich are selfless. If he helps others, it is above all out of pure altruism.
Nationally recognized tips
The great generosity of the Spurs coach is well known in the restaurant industry. In 2006, after eliminating the Kings in the playoffs, he invited the whole team to an Italian restaurant.
Garth Hogdon, who was working there that day, remembers that Popovich paid for everyone’s meal and expensive wines. The sommelier does not remember the amount of the bill, but will probably never forget the 50% tip.
“He bought a lot and he shared with us so that we could also live the experience. We often talk about him in the world of sommeliers as someone generous, kind and who loves wine,” Hogdon said.
On social networks, it has also happened that signs of the great generosity of the coach have been shared. On Twitter, in 2017, the photo of an addition on which we see that Pop left a tip of 5000 dollars in a restaurant in Memphis. An almost usual gesture for him.
Waiters all over the United States seem to know that Popovich has his heart on his sleeve. Justin Gonzalez, who worked at a seafood restaurant in San Antonio, recalls that Popovich’s visit sometimes caused petty arguments between the employees. Likewise in the Steakhouse of Stacie Hilt, where everyone wanted to take care of him. It’s understandable, since he has occasionally tipped generously for a simple “hello”.
“The waiters were arguing. They were like, ‘Oh no, I’m bringing this to Pop,’ ‘no, I’m me.’ parked his car, $100 to the bartender. He gave me $100 for saying hello to him. It looked like he had a lot of $100 bills in his pocket”raconte Hilt.
Small gestures that say a lot
At Spurs, Pop’s former players, assistants and general managers were the first to benefit from his kindness. For Mike Brownwho spent three seasons on the San Antonio bench, his generosity “has no equal” among league coaches.
For example, Brown remembers Popovich inviting everyone in the organization to dinner. Whether he was with a star, a substitute or an assistant, one thing never changed. In the end, the bill was for him.
Among the moments that the new Kings coach remembers: the time Pop bought an SUV from an intern. The young man was driving an old car at the time. So old that her colleagues worried about knowing “if he would arrive at the training center from his home, which was probably five minutes away”, says Brown. In the end, he finished his internship with a Nissan Pathfinder, a gift from the coach.
Every time the team organizes a charity event, Gregg Popovich puts his hand in the wallet. In 2013, he bought a 4×4 for $62,500 at a fundraiser, before donating it to charity. But that night, Sean Elliotta former NBA champion with the Spurs, was not surprised.
“He’s done this a bunch of times. I know he’s given a ton of money to people. He’s saved so many people in tough situations that you’ve never heard of. And people don’t have no idea how much money he gave to the San Antonio community. It would be mind-boggling if people knew”says Elliott.
Chad Forcier, Spurs assistant coach between 2007 and 2016, also has stories to tell. Especially that of a particularly cold night during which he returned with Popovich and other assistants from an evening at the restaurant.
In the dark street leading to their hotel, a homeless man lay on the frozen ground. As the aides continued to advance, Popovich slowed down and removed his jacket, before slipping a wad of cash into it and offering it to the homeless man.
“Knowing Pop, it was a significant amount of cash, which he stuffed into his leather jacket before draping it over the man. He didn’t want anyone to notice what he was doing. but when he took off his jacket, he only had his shirt left. And we still had four or five blocks to go.”he says.
This gesture, Forcier has never forgotten. At that moment, he was seized with immense respect for the legendary coach’s compassion. This is no doubt a sentiment shared by the member of the organization for whom he paid for a trip to Brazil, or the hundreds of children to whom he gave sports shoes.
We often talk about the “Popovich school” and its impact on the game. But its legacy does not end there. When he left the Spurs for Atlanta, Mike Budenholzer also started working for the Food Bank with Eric Cooper. At the Hawks, he participated in the creation of “Assists for Hunger”. He has pledged to donate $15 for every assist his players make.
He later ended up donating $100,000, over and above the pledged amount, and started the same program at the Bucks. In Milwaukee, Budenholzer raised more than $500,000 for a Wisconsin program that provided more than 2 million meals to people in need.
In San Antonio, Gregg Popovich will not be forgotten. His dynasty, his titles and his immense impact on basketball make him one of the greatest coaches in history. But he still stands tall off the court. Without a sound, he left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of people.
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