SAN ANTONIO — It took nearly three years but Donald Trump finally took a shot last week at Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has been an outspoken critic of the president.
Trump made his comments after being asked about the dust-up between China and the NBA.
Popovich praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver for the way he handled the matter.
Pop responded to what Trump said about him when he spoke to reporters before Sunday afternoon's preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the AT&T Center.
Here is what Popovich said:
"All I did was make a comparison between Adam Silver’s show of principle and courage in a tough situation as opposed to how our president reacts in the company of authoritarian figures, whether it’s Saudi Arabia or North Korea or Russia or Turkey, whatever it is. Comes off as pretty feckless, impotent and cowardly by comparison.
Adam Silver, that was fraught with economic peril, but he stood by our nation and its principles. That’s pretty huge these days. Sometimes it’s kind of Orwellian. We think we are living in a place where, ‘Is this really happening?’ But that comparison is pretty stark, when you put our president up against those leaders when he is with them or talking to them and how he reacts compared with the way Adam Silver reacted. I was proud of him. It was great."
