SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich will be entering the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this summer and many are applauding his tremendous milestone.
Including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Cuban recently reacted to Popovich's Hall of Fame selection with Mavericks writer Landon Buford saying the long-time San Antonio coach is a "hero."
“Pop was amazing! Us [Mavericks] versus the Spurs was everything in the NBA for 15, 20 years. I'm kind of missing that. Pop is a hero on the court and off," said Cuban.
Part of Popovich's NBA coaching history will be about his Spurs against Cuban's Mavericks.
At the peak of the Spurs dynasty era, Dallas was usually a team San Antonio had to deal with in the West postseason.
The teams battled to the final seconds of games and gave memorable playoff series that are seared in Silver and Black fans' memories.
From Manu Ginobili's foul on Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006 playoffs to Steve Kerr's three-point barrage versus the Mavericks in the 2003 playoffs, the Spurs and Mavericks' rivalry was one to watch.
As for Popovich's entry into basketball immortality, it is well deserved. He is arguably the greatest coach in league history.
“It’s not something you think about when you’re growing up, while you’re in the business, that’s not in your head,” Popovich said. “When people would say, ‘Hall of Fame,’ to me that always and still does mean Red Holtzman, Red Auerbach, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, to me that’s Hall of Fame.”
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