Thoughts on the Coaching Retirement of Gregg Popovich

Greg Popovich is stepping down as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and taking a front office job. This is truly the end of an era. Let’s discuss.

As long back as I can remember watching basketball, Popovich has been a steady presence. He became the head coach of the Spurs in 1996. I was 14 years old. This was right about the time I was becoming a serious fan of the NBA. I had always watched, but late middle school/early high school was a pivotal time in my fandom, and Popovich was the common thread all the way through to now. Pop is a five time NBA champion as a head coach. He won Coach of the Year three times, it should have been so many more. He coached the all star team four times, that is given to the coach of the team with the best record in their conference at the time of the all star break. He coached the men's Olympic team twice.

Popovich is, in my personal opinion, the greatest basketball coach of all time. He got absolutely everything he could out of his players. People may throw out Phil Jackson or John Wooden as the best head coach. I know Erik Spoelstra is looked at as one of the better coaches of the modern era. Joe Mazzula is leading the charge in this era. But I would so much rather have Coach Pop than any of those guys. Yes, Pop has coached hall of fame players. Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. David Robinson is one of the best centers to ever play the game. And Manu Ginobli was the best 6th man that the NBA has ever seen. But those three guys were drafted and brought up in the Spurs system. Robinson had other coaches, but he thrived under Pop. Tim Duncan more than helped to usher in the post Robinson era, and a lot of that was due to Pop and his staff. Ginobli was a late round pick that was developed. They traded for Kawhi Leonard on draft night and Pop used him perfectly as a young player. He was a defensive stud from day one, and Pop knew that. He also knew he needed to develop a jump shot, so Pop went out and got one of the better shooting coaches ever. The Kawhi Leonard we say today, when healthy, was made under Pop and crew. Bruce Bowen was the first "3 and D" guy that I remember. He was a hellish defender and he could knock down shots. Pop noticed this in the process. Sean Elliot was another one of the hellish defensive wings that played under Pop who grew into a champion. Tony Parker became a household name after being a late first round pick and learning the NBA under Pop's tutelage. Danny Green was their younger version of Bowen and Elliot late in the Spurs title runs. You go up and down the list of these guys, none of whom besides Duncan and Robinson truly stand out, and Pop coached them to championships and got all that he could out of them.

Pop is also widely respected by everyone around the league. The players, the other coaches and the front offices all wish they could have had Pop as their head coach. When the Spurs won the lottery a few years ago, Pop and Victor Webanyama were a match made in basketball heaven. Players like to go have wine and nice dinners with Pop. I have never run into an NBA fan that doesn't like Pop. Pop is outsoked on social justice issues. He was a fan of the Women's march in 2017. He endorsed Joe Biden in 2020. He is a good dude on and off the court. He clearly knows right from crazy and crazy from sympathetic. He works with multiple charities and donates his time and money. Pop is a good, decent human being.

And he is not totally leaving the NBA. He is going to stay on in the Spurs front office, but it will be weird to not see him on the sidelines anymore. I'll miss watching him coach the Spurs. He is such a presence and a legend of the game. But, I also get why he is doing this now. He had a stroke this year, and being an NBA head coach does not seem like a relaxing job. He can still help to make decisions and help the players out, he will be doing it on his own time now. I'll be curious to see where the Spurs go from here, I wouldn't be surprised if this is almost a done deal from Michael Malone. But, Greg Popovich has done more than enough for the game of basketball and he has earned the right to leave his position as the head coach.

I wish nothing but the best for him and see him still making the Spurs a perennial contender in the NBA. All Pop does is win, and I don't see that changing now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Tim Duncan had the Career Every NBA Player can only Dream of

Sit and rest Tim. You have earned a happy retirement

After an incredible 19 year NBA career, Tim Duncan has decided to retire. Duncan's retirement has seemed like it was coming for the past two or three seasons, but it is still a shock to see an all time great hang it up. Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever play basketball, hands down. It's not even close. Some people will throw out Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Daryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, anyone big time hall of famer, but Duncan has surpassed them all, and it's not even close. Duncan was the consummate pro. He was THE pro's pro. Every player should strive to have a career like Duncan had. His longevity, his ability to play highly competitive basketball all the way to the end, being the greatest teammate, being humble, not having any crazy off the court issues, I mean, everything about his career was almost perfect. He was so durable and so reliable and just flat out awesome.

Duncan was the first pick in the 1997 draft. He went to the Spurs the year after they tanked out after David Robinson got hurt. Going into the 97 draft, Duncan was a can't miss player. The fact that he got to play with David Robinson his first two years in the NBA is a highly overlooked aspect of him getting accustomed to the NBA life with another humble pro. He and David Robinson were great teammates as well. Duncan's second year, they won the championship, giving David Robinson his much coveted title.

After winning rookie of the year in his first season, then the title his second season, Duncan really took off. That's not to say he wasn't great in his first two years, he was exceptional. But, after Robinson retired, Duncan took over as the team leader and thrived. He won four more titles as a player. He won the NBA finals MVP in three of his five titles. He was a 15 time all star. He was a regular on all NBA and all NBA defensive teams. He was a double double machine, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds with regularity. Even as his career wore on, he adjusted to the new pace of the game. This also has a lot to do with the one coach he played his entire NBA career for, Gregg Poppovich. These two were as perfect for each other as Robinson and Duncan were the perfect teammates. How many players, in the entire history of the NBA, can say that they played for one team and one coach for a very, very long career. I'd venture to say that list is less than 5 players. And, I'd venture even further and say that Duncan is the best of all those players.

Getting back to adjusting to changing his style of play to the changes of play in the NBA, Duncan did it best. When he was first in the league, centers were the man on offense. The ball and the plays ran through them. Duncan excelled as a back to the basket center and was one of the better scorers in the low post of all time. Then, as a defender, he was a world class rim protector and a very capable rebounder. He stood at 6'10, but his arms were so long, it made him unguardable and dominant as a defender. Then, as the NBA has kind of evolved from centers being the focal point to this new "pace and space" and shooters being the first option and the "point forward" position being invented, Duncan still found a niche. He became a great passer. He developed a mid range jumper. He still protected the rim when guards would drive and he was one of the better rebounders still in the league. Even in the last couple of seasons, with his knees going and his legs not as strong or as fast and his jumping ability non existent, he was still a threat. He could still hit the mid range jumper. He still made hook shots. He still was a beast on put backs. He still played all NBA defense. He was still a very capable rebounder. He was still great.

I will miss watching Tim Duncan play basketball. There will be no other player like him, probably ever. He was such a great player on the court and he was very famous, but he carried himself with a humbleness and a humility that is unmatched. Like I said, there is no scandals that involve Tim Duncan. He was never boastful of arrogant on or off the court. He keeps to himself and is a very quiet, non assuming person. He never raised his voice and he rarely complained to officials. He never seemed to foul out of games or get kicked out of games. I said it before and I will say it again, he IS the pro that everyone should strive to be.

The time has come for Duncan to hang it up, but what a way to go and what a great, all time career. Tim Duncan is, and always will be, the greatest power forward of all time and he is a top five player of all time, no doubt about it.  Enjoy your retirement.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks you can be the greatest person of all time by supporting SeedSing. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: The Cars

We all have a soundtrack to our lives. There are songs we hear that immediately transport us back to a certain time in our life. These songs are not always considered great by the critics and keepers of pop culture, but they have strong personal feelings. Everybody born before 1980 can sing the first few bars of the song Alex P. Keaton hears when he thinks of Ellen. I had no idea who sang that song, or what it was called. (Billy Vera and the Beaters, At This Moment. Now you know, it that is half the battle.) Music is the closest thing we have to time travel. Sometimes we hear a song, and we are transported to a time long forgotten.

The Cars created some of the greatest memories with their incredible music. The band was able to build these memories by making some of the greatest music to come out in the early 1980's. Ric Ocasek and his sound is iconic, but he was not a solo artist.  The Cars were a band who went through many previous incarnations with new members being picked out of other small local bands until an influential sound could be created. Ocasek first picked up bassist Benjamin Orr in Cleveland and headed to Boston. Once in Boston the duo added and subtracted many members until the Cars were formed with Ocasek, Orr, Elliot Easton on guitar, Greg Hawkes on keyboards, and David Robinson on drums.  The synth heavy, new wave sound of The Cars helped move the nation away from disco. The bands first two albums, The Cars and Candy-O both brought the band great success, but their eternal greatness was going to be how The Cars music was brought to the masses visually.

On August 1st, 1981 MTV launched and created a new trajectory for popular music. Well regraded musicians who did not have a good look, such as Christopher Cross, were suddenly being left behind. The pretty bands like Duran Duran and Flock of Seagulls (???) were now taking over your screens and speakers. The Cars were one of the first bands to understand that great music videos could complement great music. They were already commercially and critically successful with their sound, now The Cars were gaining a new level of fame with their videos. At the very first MTV Video Music Awards, The Cars took home the top prize for their video for "You Might Think".

The Cars already had the great music, they now were considered the best music video artists. Incredible music and mind blowing videos is not how an entire generation will remember The Cars. In 1982 the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High opened and left its mark on all of generation x. Writer Cameron Crowe and director Amy Heckerling created iconic characters, and produced one particular scene that would hit a bit close to home for many of the audience. (link kind of NSFW). The iconic music used for this memorable scene was the song "Moving in Stereo" by The Cars. Like the Alex Keaton sad song, Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool song has been planted in our brains and created a moment we will never forget. The red bikini, the exit from the pool, the slow walk, the embarrassment, all to the voice and bass of Benjamin Orr with backing from the rest of The Cars. Anyone born before 1980 knows that scene, and they know that song. The Cars created an everlasting memory.

The Cars broke up in the late eighties, and bassist Benjamin Orr succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2000. There have been a few different line-ups touring under The Cars, mostly playing iconic hits from the bands greatest days. In 2010 the living founding members of The Cars reunited, recorded a new album, and went out on tour. It is down right criminal that The Cars have not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The keepers of the hall need to correct this oversight. The Cars created a sound for a generation.

In crowning the Greatest American Band, we get caught up in who made the most popular music, and we forget to give credit to the bands that are timeless. The Cars may not be the most popular, although they did pretty good at selling records, but they were unforgettable. When I listen to The Cars Pandora station, there is recognizable hit after hit. The moment "Moving in Stereo" comes on I am transported. Over thirty years later I can feel the excitement, and the embarrassment at the same time. That is true greatness.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He hopes now that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has no more Beatles to induct, maybe a deserving band like The Cars can get some love. Nominate your Greatest American Band and write for SeedSing.