Gregg Popovich - Full Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech

[Applause] there are uh six traits that are considered vital for leadership they are Integrity loyalty commitment energy decisiveness and selflessness Cadet Greg Popovich [Applause] he learned all those lessons at the United States Air Force Academy and using those traits serve Pop extremely well on his watch not only did the San Antonio Spurs become a model franchise but also a dynasty and he and he would and also a dynasty [Music] and he would become one of the most of the most with the National Basketball Association earning great respect from his fellow coaches his players peers fans and yes the dean of sideline reporters too listening is important those are those little discipline things are going to win and lose Us games as the most tenured head coach in american professional sports Greg Popovich has been a commanding presence on the NBA Sidelines for more than a quarter Century pop is given to the NBA a blueprint it's about how to run a franchise about how to run a team about how the game should be played a graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy Popovich spent eight years coaching at the Collegiate level at Pomona Pitzer before becoming an NBA assistant to mentors Larry Brown and Don Nelson let's do it again I don't see anybody Sprint in 1996 he took over the Reigns as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and went on to write league history as his teams posted winning records for the next 22 years he was a motivator and he pushed hard and expected a lot from me not only like on the court but trying to teach me how to be a leader and he cares for us not only in a coaching level but on a personal level keep shooting it keep shooting and follow through follow through he's Beyond being a coach he's more of a life coach too generosity a race man humor and we all appreciate him a lot under his leadership the Spurs created a unique culture which helped the franchise develop into a dynasty [Applause] practice some next week because coach was so demanding and he was very competitive and he wanted to win then he definitely helped me grow as a man and as a basketball player Popovich also led the United States to an Olympic gold medal is a three-time NBA coach of the year and holds the all-time NBA record for career victories Greg Popovich is one of the most impactful people I've ever had in my life every coach in the league has watched pop over the years and he's just an inspiration for all of us [Music] claim a San Antonio's fan for the Admiral David Robinson Tim Duncan Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] you guys sit down don't speak just sit there I tried to think of a word that would describe what this might feel like and it feels even shush and it feels even different than I thought it would but for me it's unimaginable and that's not an attempt to be humble this is unimaginable and for anybody that's uh gone through this and felt it it's not something you think about as you're growing up it's unimaginable I I want to thank Jerry Colangelo John deleva the Board of Governors the trustees and all those who voted to make me part of this honor as I look around and meet my colleagues with whom I share this dice tonight a pretty crazy feeling to be included in that when I look out here I'm looking at all these faces that are legends I I just I'm not speechless but I find it hard to find all the words to describe what's what's going on in my chest right now all the pictures and the the artifacts in the Hall of Fame it's it's a long way from growing up in Sunnyside in East Chicago Indiana and going under Klein Avenue to Franklin grade school where I shot my first basket because we all remember where we fell in love with this game and for me it was there with that asphalt ground and that Moon shaped backboard that kind of Ages me I guess but I can't remember there was a net or if it was that iron mesh thing but it went in when it was done I was seduced dribble in downtown east Chicago and going to the Catherine house to to play ball or going to the Gary Indiana Armory to practice with bitty basketball for Doc James all those days and nights out in the playground at 39th and Broadway and Gary or out at the Griffith Parks those are the things that came back to me as I was thinking about standing here and I know that everybody has their personal story so I'll stop at that but it made me ask a question what the hell am I doing here how could this happen uh it's hard to describe because I'm a division three guy 's like coach Hicks are my idols you know those guys that's that's real basketball [Applause] I was going to wear my Pomona pitcher shirt but I thought Jerry would shoot me so I didn't do that uh I figured it out why I'm standing here I have half a brain it took me a few days and I decided there were two reasons one of them is a bit lengthy because it includes the thank yous that are appropriate and the second one is really quick but I want to thank coach Vermillion uh who would open the gym for me in Merrillville Indiana when I'd come back from Lee from The Academy and so I could stay in shape and he wasn't a basketball coach he was a baseball coach like chemistry and physics teacher but he had faith in me and made me believe that I could play a little bit uh moving on to the academy I had the opportunity to play for coach Bob Speer who was an iconic Shuffle guy I learned a lot of discipline I didn't shoot very much he took a shot about every one and a half to two minutes uh in in the shuffle but he was a great man and was followed by another wonderful man named Hank Egan who's a very underrated coach he took over at the Academy I played for him on the junior varsity team and he gave me my first job at the prep school at the Academy as a head coach also this will be hard to believe but when I got to the camera I was a little bit of a wise ass and I know you all know that now I'm a totally mature controlled individual but he would boot me out of practice at least once every week and a half just tell me to leave and at the military academies that's not a good thing for you it causes a lot of trouble but he was he was special and he deserves those thanks then things get crazy this can't happen to anybody but I guess it began when I actually was able to try out for the Nuggets I was 26 years old and Larry Brown Doug Moe were the coaches suffice to say that when the camp was over Larry and Doug told me that it would be best if I got a coat in tie uh and they had the vision I know it was a tough decision for him but they cut me and kept David Thompson so I knew pretty quickly that it was over started to on that on that path Coach Brown for some strange reason when he went to San Antonio he brought me along while I was at Pitzer and Pomona which is called Pomona Pitzer people don't understand that but it's two division three schools put together a wonderful division three program and I was fat dumb and happy I had a couple of assistants there my first assistants in basketball really uh Charlie katzfica is a Tufts graduate from out east here and Lee Wimberley a Stanford grad who went to the bolt School law school at Berkeley these two idiots accepted an offer for me for a thousand dollars per year and Charlie who's still the coach so coach Hickson can get after him for this I also added to his contract if he painted the dorms at Pomona and Pitzer he'd get an extra stipend and these guys both took the job so I owe them a great deal started me out taught me a lot and we had great camaraderie why Larry took me from there I'll never know I didn't help him very much but the odd part about it was that it was after a sabbatical year where this is the incredible part I got to spend an entire season at both Kansas and North Carolina with Larry and Coach Smith and Roy thank you where are you thank you for being so kind and supportive while I was there we don't have to go through the details of where he put me and where I had to be but a whole year with those two guys that was like Serendipity times 10. and I'm very very grateful for that beginning from there from those purists those people coach Smith and Coach Brown that would teach from morning till night and if you were in a rocker step and you were an inch off they were on your butt from there I went to Nelly that's a different world and uh speaking of Nelly he's in no danger out there in Hawaii for a couple of different reasons but heart goes out to all the people out there that are suffering so much right now it's a tough situation for sure thank you he was the master of gaming the system Coach Riley knows that right he uh knew what to do with match-ups he knew what the rules were and he knew how to use them he was a great manipulator of the game I can still when I think of him I can still think he had like three or four guys standing at half court and somebody going one-on-one over here back in the day he was a little bit different in that regard but I love him he's a great guy I've been blessed with great owners from the very beginning Red McCombs an iconic figure philanthropist a great man brought the team to San Antonio and was a great mentor for me he's no longer with us but the influence he had on me was tremendous then General Robert F McDermott bought the team and kept it in San Antonio when everybody thought it was going to leave David had a lot to do with it staying in San Antonio so [Applause] and then our then the team was bought uh by the Holt family our current owners Peter Holt and Juliana hanholt were fantastic and they set the tone for our culture the demands the standards that we're still trying to live by uh at this point on a day-to-day operation they've turned it over to their children to Peter John Holt and his sister Karina who I'm very grateful for in the sense that they've been just as trusting as their parents they allow us to do our jobs we keep them informed but so far they've sent me no out of bounds plays or anything like that I'm really indebted to them our fans have been great just like in every city now I think [Music] what are you people doing here who invited you uh it's a it's a it's a pretty large town but it's a very small town atmosphere and they think we belong to them and and we we kind of like it because we feel responsible to them so thank you all we're going to continue to try to do our best you know thanks for sticking with me I told you the first reason why I'm standing here to take a little bit of time but number two is that quick so don't worry about it um special thank yous uh USA Basketball uh Jerry Colangelo fulfilled a lifetime dream of Mine by having the trust in me to coach the Olympic team in 2020 in Japan and it wasn't easy but it happened and we won and for him I'm a servant for the rest of my life very grateful to him thank you Jared along with uh Jerry there are a couple people that need to be mentioned Sean Ford he's Jerry's right hand man now Grant Hill's right hand man since Grant Hill has taken over and he'll do a fantastic job but Sean Ford uh for those that know him this will make sense for those that you don't you might be fortunate enough to run into him sometime he could be the athletic director at any college he could be the GM at any NBA team he could be the damn president of the United States he really could he's that special and he works that hard he's with the team right now I think they played Slovenia today and in a prelim kind of deal so Sean Ford is important Jim Tooley is the bureaucratic guy he's the guy that guides the whole thing at some level like behind closed doors that none of us ever see does a good job and then lastly as far as USA Basketball is concerned is a big thank you to my friend Coach K he was so supportive [Applause] um he brought me in early to make sure that I got up to speed knew what the heck was going on and through the whole thing has always been there for advice and counsel and I appreciate him very much all those players these are just four of them and there were a lot of times where they were a pain in the ass too but there's a whole lot of them some of them are here tonight but to all those players all the coaches that have been there some of the my fellow presenters here especially those that had a little bit of age on them like me we've seen a lot of players a lot of assistant coaches physio people uh a huge thank you to all of you I don't want to make the mistake and omit but without them nothing nothing would have happened they had a little bit to do with it but all those people the work that they put in the Loyalty the support is beyond comprehension and I'm very very grateful to them three people that have been with me from the beginning from my first day until tonight right now there are only three in the whole San Antonio organization and the first one is a person who should be standing right here and without him there would have been much much less success and that's R.C Buford thank you [Applause] PJ is angry because I didn't say his name oh I love you the second one is Will sevening simply trainer of the century and our PR director believe it or not from then until now Tom James who he has the unenviable task of muzzling me when I get on one of my soapbox deals here and there he counsels me and tries to hold me back and tells me how much trouble I'm going to be in uh but he's a he's a special guy I have a family I have a family people think that I just do basketball I don't really like it that much I mean you know what what basketball doesn't love us back does it we we use it like a bar of soap right it pays our bills it gives us a wonderful life but I don't remember it saying I love you Pop you know it's it's it's different the family that is the deal and uh my wife Aaron of 42 years was our center of gravity she was our Rock and made everything worthwhile and meaningful in her place now my family has done a great job of keeping it going my son Mickey is here artist musician from Seattle and I was I had a dream I thought there should is there a chance there's a team in Seattle is is there a history in Seattle that we're missing where's we're very Gary where's Gary am I right come on man Seattle I'm probably in trouble I don't know my daughter Jill who was taking over the mantle and keeps us all on the straight and narrow she doesn't talk to me about trades as much as my wife did but you know wives hate trades you know they make friends and everything you say I just traded Joe Blow you're an idiot why would you do that those are great people it's the business you know I don't want to hear about your business you know these are people that kind of thing but Jill you're doing a great job you and Mickey love you love you to death [Applause] her husband Christopher is here Mr solid never up never down just steady appreciate you Megan my sister-in-law she keeps us all loose takes care of us all whenever she's in town and then the stars of the show and I know all of you out there know who the stars of the show are that's the grandkids that's the grandkids Bridget stand up Bridget stand up stand up where's Bridget I don't think you can see Finn Finn where are you stand up raise your hand hey hey okay is it at the truth you know I tell my son and my daughter saying I I I love you it's not that it's gone away but you guys are a little bit boring now there's nothing else I can give you you're on your own get out of here give me the kids you know that's what it's all about so thank you for your patience but that's the first reason why I'm standing here the second reason involves one word so it's going to be quick that's great huh one word and that word is duh thank you I'm not done [Applause] I've been waiting for this a long time I'm not done I didn't say doe was the end I just said there's one word to describe why I'm here and that's duh those guys did you hear the little video where I said listen listening is important I was tasked with the job to try to create an environment so we could have some success you know people you know you've got some good players you got to do something and I'm going to give myself credit I did you know what I did I was there I watched it all I saw it and I have pictures to prove that I was there while they won championships and you can't take that away from me I mean I I talked to David David he was he was good I I but you know coach Blair mentioned the word relationships and I'm going to get to that because that's what's important all those O's and X's everybody knows the O's and X's it's not brain science like you know when's the last time you had a new pick and roll Play It's All the Same Damn stuff you know Jerry Sloan ran the same play 77 times in a row and nobody could beat Carl and John you know so that's all baloney it's about relationships and with David it was okay I curse I don't want to curse I know it's ignorant but you got to be who you are because kids hold your ears because players have great antennae and if you're not genuine they know it in a second just be yourself you can't be Johnny wooden or Bobby Knight or whoever you can't do it you just have to be yourself so I made a deal with David and he said pop as long as you don't take the name of the Lord in vain I'm going to try to put up with you and I want to thank you for doing that because it worked it worked with Tony I just asked him to be perfect and at 19 that was tough if you could switch the social you know situations that we have now compared to back then if I coached him now the way I did then I would be in handcuffs seriously I would be behind bars don't you think Tony good but I have mellowed right he tells me I'm soft now so I can't go back to those days you got to change you got to change Timmy with Timmy the relationship was I just wanted him once in a while to listen to what I said or just not his head so that I knew that he heard me I just wanted some self-satisfaction I wanted to feel good about myself I wanted to think that I was really coaching this team and once in a while he acquiesced and he'd give me a nod and I'm thankful for that I really am okay see this just like that that's what he does relationships Manu who like I think Tony said it took two years for us to figure it out it was it was it that long yeah but what I learned from Manu once he came to me one day he says you know I'm moaning and groaning at him and Bob I am Manu this is what I do his true story quote unquote at that point I learned how to zip it and just let him play and sometimes that's the best thing we can do as coaches is just to let them play so my final message is just the wins and losses are all crap the highs and lows are all crap that's illusory it's it doesn't really exist what exists is seeing these guys and their kids those relationships with your assistant coaches everybody else you're with your colleagues your friends because that's what you take with you as you move along all those wins or losses they fade away they fade away but those relationships stick with you forever and that's where the self-esteem and the self-satisfaction comes and we live in challenging times I'm not going to go into it but the times we live and require they require that we relate with each other a whole lot better than we do right now so I wish you all well thank you foreign [Applause]

Channel: House of Highlights

Views: 294,060

Keywords: hall of fame, gregg popovich, basketball hall of fame, nba hall of fame, naismith memorial basketball hall of fame, tony parker hall of fame, gregg popovich hall of fame, hall of fame speech, wade hall of fame, nba hall of fame induction, basketball hall of fame enshrinement, pop hall of fame, hall of fame nba, dirk hall of fame, 2023 hall of fame speech, tony parker speech hall of fame, hall of fame induction, tim duncan hall of fame, hall of fame tony parker

Id: nTLD_ZkKf3w

Length: 29min 43sec (1783 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2023