Despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ best efforts, Frank Vogel’s team came up short against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The loss was disappointing for the Lakers, but for the Spurs and, particularly head coach Gregg Popovich, this was a historical moment.
With the win, Popovich tied Don Nelson for the most coaching wins in the history of the NBA with 1,335. Making it more impressive for Popovich is the fact that he has reached this mark in 370 fewer games than Nelson, showing just how successful he has been throughout his career.
Popovich has been with the Spurs since 1997 and is one of the most respected coaches the NBA has ever seen. Even though it came at his expense, Vogel had nothing but praise for the legendary coach.
“Incredible respect for who he is as a coach. We all, younger coaches, look up to him and admire him and respect what he’s done and what he means to our game. So certainly happy for him, wish it wasn’t against us but Pop is the best,” Vogel said after the game.
Popovich and the Spurs have been one of the biggest rivals of the Lakers throughout his tenure in San Antonio. The two sides have met countless times in the playoffs with plenty of memorable moments on each side, so for Popovich to reach this historical milestone against the Lakers is fitting, even if he will surely downplay it all.
As Vogel said, everyone in the league has a ton of respect for Popovich, who is one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. The longevity he has had with the Spurs franchise is truly remarkable and in fact, no head coach has ever had this long of a run with a single time. Popovich’s 26 seasons in San Antonio are truly unbelievable and he deserves all of the praise for this accomplishment.
Vogel says Lakers coaches ‘relentlessly’ seeking solutions
Unfortunately, Popovich’s milestone came at the expense of Vogel and the Lakers. The team has been struggling mightily as of late, but Vogel spoke recently about the coaching staff’s work in trying to figure out the best way to right the ship.
“We’re relentlessly seeking solutions to get us playing better and we come in the next day with some tweaks or fundamentals that need to be better or ways that we can improve our team and no stone unturned in terms of trying to find solutions to get this right,” Vogel said.
“But it hasn’t taken shape, but there’s no quit in us, we will continue to persist. We’re trying to adjust and find ways to win with Anthony [Davis] out. We haven’t found that yet. It’s not something we can’t do. We just haven’t found it yet.
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