Gregg Popovich

Gregg Charles Popovich is an American former basketball player, retired US Air Force officer, and a professional basketball coach, who is currently affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the head coach and president. Having assumed his duties with the Spurs in 1996, Popovich has marshalled the team to five NBA Championship wins. He grew up in East Chicago, Indiana and started playing Biddy Basketball at a young age. In 1960, he made it to the Gary Biddy Basketball All-Star Team and led the team to their third-place finish in the World Tournament. He also played basketball for the United States Air Force Academy. After briefly considering a career with the Central Intelligence Agency, he enlisted in the US Air Force and subsequently served five years of active duty. Popovich was part of the US Armed Forces’ basketball delegation to Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. In 1973, he started off his coaching career as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy. He first joined the Spurs in 1988 as the assistant coach under Larry Brown before leaving in 1992 to serve in the same capacity with the Golden State Warriors. In 1994, Popovich returned to the Spurs as the general manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations. He became the head coach of the team in 1996.