Gregg Popovich has seen it all.
The veteran has been coaching in the NBA since 1988 and there’s arguably nobody better to discuss the Michael Jordan vs LeBron James debate than the man who witnessed both of their peaks up close.
Gregg Popovich witnessed Jordan at his peak in the NBAGETTYAfter 29 seasons as head coach of the Spurs, Popovich is stepping away from the role as he becomes the team’s president of basketball operations.
Popovich’s first involvement in the NBA came in 1988 when he was an assistant to San Antonio head coach Larry Brown. He briefly moved to the Golden State Warriors before returning to the Spurs in 1994.
Those years spent in the early 80s and 90s saw him witness Jordan at his peak as the Chicago Bulls star established himself, for many, as the greatest basketball player of all time.
When Popovich was asked to compare Jordan and James in 2022, he couldn’t help but first reminisce about how good the six-time NBA champion was.
“It’s kind of like when I first came to the league back in the 80s as an assistant coach. I get mesmerized watching Michael on the court, and you know, I wasn’t much help to Larry Brown,” he said.
“I’m watching Michael and I do that to LeBron. He’ll do things. He’ll look over once in a while and smirk.”
Many wouldn’t know at the time but it was actually Popovich who played a major role in enhancing Jordan’s legacy with a second three-peat for the Bulls between 1996 and 1998.
In between winning titles with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago, Dennis Rodman was a San Antonio Spur.
This was before Tim Duncan arrived and when Popovich was a front office executive, not the head coach.
Rodman and the strict coach did not have a good relationship, with the pair clashing multiple times over the five-time NBA champion’s lifestyle.
Popovich compared James and Jordan’s peaksGETTY Denis Rodman was instrumental in the Bulls’ second three-peatGETTYSo even though Rodman averaged 16.8 rebounds, 7.1 points and two assists that year, Popovich traded him to the Bulls after the 1995 playoffs.
“The city kind of embraced me, but what’s his name, Popovich, he hated me,” Rodman said. “He hated my guts because I wasn’t a bible guy. They looked at me like I was the devil.”
In exchange for Rodman, the Spurs got Will Perdue, who went to average 6.1 rebounds and 5.2 points in his debut season.
“I said my god, am I the same guy that helped get David Robinson a scoring title and MVP? Am I the same guy that averaged 19.3 rebounds per game for you,” Rodman added.
“And I the same guy we won 68 damn games? Am I that same guy, but you guys don’t like me? So I said, ‘OK, trade me,’ They traded me to the damn Bulls.”
Rodman’s arrival at the Bulls in 1995 was an instant success, winning a championship in each of his three seasons at the club as Chicago achieved another three-peat.
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He was instrumental in the Bulls success as he displayed his love for defending, averaging 15.3 rebounds, 5.2 points and 2.8 assists in 199 games for the franchise.
Rodman departed Chicago as a reigning champion in 1998 — a glittering stint that was sparked by Popovich.
Pops likely has no regrets, he went on to build his own dynasty at the Spurs, securing five chips in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 before walking away as the NBA’s winningest coach.
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