Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the history of American sports. Fans can fight over which one is better than the other, which is acceptable because so much of this is subjective. However, his overall impact on the game of basketball cannot be disputed, and if you do not rank him in the top five, you do not deserve the respect of a civil conversation.
Pop has coached San Antonio for nearly 30 years and has an unblemished record. You nearly never saw the end of the tunnel for him, since it seemed like he’d be leading the Silver and Black for eternity. When his health problems revealed, it became clear that the legendary Spurs franchise would be guided by someone else.
He has been coaching the squad for so long that multiple succession plans have been put in place in case he decides to depart. He hadn’t done that, therefore those plans were abandoned. Now that the franchise faces the serious prospect that the league’s longest-tenured coach may not return, an old succession plan should be brought back to the table.
The Spurs should bring back Mike Budenholzer if Phoenix fires him.
There are just two coaches on my list of prospective successors if Coach Pop decides he cannot return. One of them is a two-time champion, having led the Las Vegas Aces to consecutive titles:
Rebecca Hammon. That program, however, has been quite successful, and until something catastrophic occurs, I do not see Hammon leaving the Aces unless the Spurs throw a lot of money at her.
My second choice would be Coach Bud. Not only can fans and media abbreviate his name to one syllable like Coach Pop—which is extremely important—but he also has roots and respect in this organization. Budenholzer is still the assistant with the longest tenure, second only to Pop.
He was present throughout four of the Spurs’ five titles, starting with Pop in 1996 and leaving the club following the 2013 season and the ill-fated Ray Allen shot.
He departed the organization the following year to take over the Atlanta Hawks, although he came so close to winning all five championships.
It was time for him to leave, though. Everyone respected that because he deserved it. The plan for him to succeed Pop was sound, but San Antonio’s leader’s desire to coach remained strong, and he stayed. Nobody was to blame there, and Coach Bud has prospered in the league. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but he’s ultimately been an excellent coach.
Budenholzer had a 52% win record in five seasons in Atlanta and a 69% win percentage when coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee. Under Coach Bud, Giannis won back-to-back MVP awards, Defensive Player of the Year honors, and an NBA title.
The Hawks did not win a championship, but they outperformed expectations, winning 60 games one year with a lineup that no one thought could do so. Unfortunately, LeBron James was at the peak of his powers at the time, therefore they were unable to break through in the playoffs.
Coach Bud has been done wrong, but he can regain ground in San Antonio.
Bud was dismissed in Milwaukee following a first-round loss to the Miami Heat. The Bucks were the top seed that year, so the Heat were ranked eighth. Apparently, what he had done up to that point was no longer applicable to their front office, and they thought they needed a change.
However, that narrative entirely ignores the fact that Giannis was injured for the first two games of the series and, when he returned, was compromised. And, not to bury the lede, Coach Bud’s brother had recently died in a horrible car accident in the middle of that playoff series.
Firing him seems terrible. It’s possible that he needed the year off to grieve, but it wasn’t the reason they let him go, according to accounts at the time. He returned to the sidelines in Phoenix this year, but things haven’t been going well. That is not his fault. Their roster is poor, and excellent coaches require talented players to win games. That has always been the case.
They have several talented players, but they lack the necessary combination of players to make a serious run. They’re still counting on 37-year-old Kevin Durant to guide them to the promised land, something he hasn’t done for a club in a long time. Give him the opportunity to lead a rising roster with Victor Wembanyama as his star, and you will see the two-time lead of the Year return.
Some of the Phoenix players appear to have an issue with Coach Bud. He has had public disagreements with Kevin Durant, and there are rumors that Devin Booker isn’t his biggest favorite either. That is OK. Listen to the players who have never won anything, and then move on from Budenholzer.
The Spurs should step in and reignite the original idea to have him lead this squad into the future.
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