{"id":1953722,"date":"2026-05-25T04:04:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1953722"},"modified":"2026-05-25T04:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:04:06","slug":"gregg-popovich-gave-locker-room-speech-admonishing-spurs-after-game-3-loss-to-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1953722","title":{"rendered":"Gregg Popovich gave locker-room speech admonishing Spurs after Game 3 loss to Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Legendary former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went into San Antonio\u2019s locker room immediately after their Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to deliver some choice words about their performance.<\/p>\n

The speech, first relayed by De\u2019Aaron Fox on NBC\u2019s postgame show Sunday and confirmed to The Athletic <\/em>by multiple Spurs players, helped inspire San Antonio\u2019s 103-82 Game 4 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPop\u2019s been around throughout the course of the season, but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, \u2018Nah, that\u2019s BS, that\u2019s not how we play basketball,’\u201d Fox said<\/a> in response to a question by NBC panelist Tracy McGrady. \u201cThat was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said the entire team and coaching staff listened, as well as general manager Brian Wright.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve ever seen that,\u201d Fox told NBC. \u201cTrainers, everybody\u2019s in there. We close the doors, we don\u2019t let anybody know what\u2019s going on in here. \u2026 We open that door, we see Pop come in, and it\u2019s like, \u2018Awwww.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Spurs rookie forward Carter Bryant said Popovich\u2019s message was simple: Be better.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing more, nothing less,\u201d Bryant told\u00a0The Athletic.<\/em> \u201cI mean, it\u2019s a direct message, and the best thing when you\u2019re in a situation like this is a direct message. So to us, we had to be better, we came out executing and we saw the outcome (in Game 4).\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The 77-year-old Popovich, who officially retired from coaching last summer after suffering a stroke at the beginning of the 2024-25 season but retains the title of president of basketball operations, has been a key figure behind the scenes all season, as The Athletic<\/em> reported<\/a>. The man unofficially known as \u201cEl Jefe\u201d is often seen consulting with players after practices, though he has become more involved throughout this postseason run.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gives feedback and talks to us regularly throughout our series, throughout our games,\u201d Victor Wembanyama said earlier in the playoffs. \u201cAs always, when he speaks, everybody listens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read Our Exclusive Details<\/div>\n
\n \"How<\/p>\n
\n
\n How Gregg Popovich quietly became the Spurs\u2019 secret weapon: \u2018He\u2019s speaking life into you\u2019\n <\/div>\n
\n In his role as “El Jefe” after retiring from coaching last year, Gregg Popovich continues to mentor the Spurs players behind the scenes.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Current head coach Mitch Johnson took over on an interim basis last season before landing the job permanently last summer. Johnson has been a member of the Spurs\u2019 organization since 2016 and was one of Popovich\u2019s assistants from 2019 to 2024.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Spurs were not happy with their Game 3 performance. After scoring the first 15 points of the game, San Antonio sputtered, eventually falling 123-108.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust from a mentality wise, I think that was one of the worst games that we had of the season, outside of the first four or five minutes of the game,\u201d Fox told reporters in his news conference. \u201cPop came in after the game; it was actually the first time that he came into the locker room and spoke after a game. So he saw it. We all saw it. We all felt it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game 4 was a different story. Now, this series is tied heading back to Oklahoma City for Tuesday\u2019s Game 5.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Legendary former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went into San Antonio\u2019s locker room immediately after their Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to deliver some choice words about their performance. The speech, first relayed by De\u2019Aaron Fox on NBC\u2019s postgame show Sunday and confirmed to The Athletic by multiple Spurs players, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1953722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1953722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1953722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1953722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1953722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}