Gregg Popovich calls coaching in the NBA is 'the easiest job that anyone could have'
- A comment made in a press conference after a loss to Golden State made one reporter ask San Antonio Spurs head coach if he was still enjoying his job amid what has been a difficult season.
- Popovich responded by saying that being an NBA coach was the " . . . easiest job anybody could have."
- He even joked that he got a first-row seat to an NBA playoff game.
It's no secret that Greg Popovich has endured one of the most stressful seasons of his career this past year, including the mysterious ongoing tension between the San Antonio Spurs and star Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs failing to crack 50 wins for the first time in 18 years, and the team now locked into an uphill playoff battle against NBA powerhouse the Golden State Warriors.
Still, when asked by reporter Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News if he was still enjoying his job as an NBA coach, Popovich displayed a good sense of perspective.
"Are you serious?" Popovich asked. "This is the easiest job anybody could have. I mean, compared to a lot of things. I mean, I get flown out here on a private plane . . . It was big. They had food on there; it was free. I landed, they put me in a Four Seasons hotel. I didn't pay a penny for that.
"I went to a game, I had a front-row seat," Popovich said, eliciting laughs. "I got to watch an NBA playoff game. I didn't even pay for the tickets," he continued, to more laughter, before going on to talk about all the free food he was enjoying.
Finger later wrote that the impetus for asking Popovich the question came when the Spurs coach said, "I'm so tired of this" in a press conference following the loss to Golden State.
"There was no way the . . . line could be construed as anything other than a joke," Finger wrote. Still, it was enough to make Finger wonder whether Popovich was still enjoying his job.
As for Popovich, he does have one complaint about his job - he would have to pay for his lunch.
You can find the full video of Popovich's response below.