Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

It’s often said that the NBA will never be the same after certain players leave, and it’s true. Even if we get close to it, it’s hard to imagine the league without LeBron James, Stephen Curry, or Kevin Durant… That said, this observation also applies to coaches, and this is especially true for Gregg Popovich.

A well-known figure on the Spurs bench since 1996, the coach is the driving force behind one of the greatest dynasties in basketball history. Unfortunately, his advanced age isn’t making his job any easier, and after suffering a stroke early in the season, he was forced to step aside for several months before finally announcing his retirement a few weeks ago. A new chapter in the history of the sport.

While he’ll remain active in San Antonio as president of basketball operations, it’s over between Pop and his coaching duties. A legendary relationship, given Pop won five championships with the Texas franchise and mentored players such as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Victor Wembanyama, to name a few. With such longevity, every player who has played for the franchise inevitably has a story to tell about him.

Wembanyama’s Spurs acolyte, Jeremy Sochan, shared his own during an appearance on the Hoopsfix podcast, going into detail about his connection to the Hall of Famer:

I have gotten into trouble with him. Not crazy, last year I got kicked out of practice one time.

Pop’s my guy, we always say to each other we’re like a married couple. There’s days where we love each other and there’s days where it’s like: “no, I don’t like you”. That’s our kind of relationship. One practice, he kind of saw me and thought I could give more effort. For him, it’s a way to teach you a lesson really. He literally told me to just get out.

I was like: “Ok…” and you know with Pop, you don’t want really wanna talk back to him at times and I felt his mood, his presence, and I was like: “Ok, this one’s not the one where I’ll say something”. I just walked to the locker room.

An anecdote that perfectly suits the former coach, also known for his viral reactions to journalists’ questions. There are days when you just don’t want to bother him…