Gregg Popovich is regarded by some as the greatest coach in NBA history.
And while these days he is more known for doing everything he can to wreck the Los Angeles Lakers than anything substantive his San Antonio Spurs are accomplishing, his track record speaks for itself.
Part of the reason why Popovich has enjoyed such immense success in the NBA is because he has a very unique way of doing things. Damian Lillard learned that lesson the hard way on Team USA.
This week, two-time champ NBA champ Vernon Maxwell appeared on Gilbert Arenas ‘No Chill’ podcast and divulged some fascinating tidbits about Popovich.
“I couldn’t do that s— he wanted me to do,” said Maxwell.
“I’m from Florida. I’m new in San Antonio and these [expletives] are trying me everywhere I go, so I’m knocking [expletives] out in the streets. So Pop tells me ‘no more clubs. The next time you go to a club, I gotta get you out of here.’
“That day, six hours later, I was at a damn bar, in a club,” revealed Maxwell. “He called me the next day, about six in the morning — ‘hey, I need you down here.’ He said, ‘I told you.’ They had a PI follow me. My dumb— didn’t even know. He told me, get your s— packed. I’m trying to find a team that wants your a–. He called me back and said ‘you’re going to Houston.’ That’s when I took off from there.”
Maxwell was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1988 and immediately traded to the Spurs. He spent two seasons there, before ultimately being sold to the Houston Rockets for $50,000.
He also isn’t the only player to ever have a PI hired to follow him around. The exact same thing recently happened to James Harden.
Yikes. https://t.co/4xnm3oTsLX
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 3, 2022
Big picture, it’s always fun when veterans talk about the league. Whether it’s this or Eddy Curry breaking down in explicit detail the fine points of NBA stars cheating on their wives – it’s all really interesting.
What history lesson will fans be privy to next?
Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
