Although he never wants to be the center of attention, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been celebrated all over social media since his record-breaking win on Friday night.
First, he tried to be slick and sneak away after eclipsing Don Nelson for the most regular season wins in NBA history, but his young squad wasn't about to let that happen.
The moment history was made.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 12, 2022
Couldn't let Coach Pop leave the court without a celebration! ?? pic.twitter.com/eL9Td1Sr00
???? pic.twitter.com/BhmqADwMNi
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 12, 2022
Then, celebrations continued online, with people around the world speaking about how Coach Popovich has touched their lives over the years. The morning after he broke the record, I compiled a quote from nearly every current NBA head coach on Twitter, which you can read by clicking the original embedded tweet here:
Coach Popovich always compliments other coaches but hates getting attention back. I'm giving him no choice now. A mega-thread with quotes from nearly every current NBA head coach: pic.twitter.com/WjAc54gaTn
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) March 12, 2022
While you can find many touching stories from the coaches themselves within the tweets, the daughter of legendary sports reporter Craig Sager told the most heartwarming story of all in response to the thread.
Popovich formed a close relationship with Sager over the years and made it a point to go out of his way in support of his friend as he fought acute myeloid leukemia for over two years. Unfortunately, Sager passed away in 2016 after a brave, inspiring battle.
Seeing the tribute to Popovich on Twitter, one of Sager's five children, Kacy Sager, then shared what Popovich did during her toughest time.
I have so much love for Popovich and will forever treasure the time I got to spend with him.
— Kacy Sager (@THESagerbomb) March 13, 2022
Did you know he flew to Atlanta for my dad’s funeral even though he had to fly back out to coach a game that night? Sat in the back so he could slip out without anyone noticing. https://t.co/kROVZv7ZYG
As Sager tells it, Popovich flew to attend her father's funeral in Atlanta just hours before having to head to Houston to coach the Spurs against the Rockets. On New Year's Day a couple of weeks later, he skipped postgame media availability to spend more time with Kacy and her brother, Craig Sager II.
Told me my eulogy was one of the realest things he’d ever witnessed and gave me a hug. It’s still so weird to think about what a defining moment that speech was for me, but he played a significant part in that ultimately being a really positive thing and not something sad.
— Kacy Sager (@THESagerbomb) March 13, 2022
"He played a significant part in that ultimately being a really positive thing and not something sad," said Sager in a follow-up tweet.
The story is just one of many shared publicly over the last few decades, and there are undoubtedly countless more that have yet to be told. For as long as his legacy will last in NBA lore, his legacy as a person will be what people remember the most.