Tiago Splitter and Sean Sweeney are the NBA's newest head coaches, and both attribute their time with the San Antonio Spurs and the mentorship of Gregg Popovich to their success.
Gregg Popovich's coaching tree just grew two more branches. The legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach has stepped away from the sidelines, but is still impacting decisions around the league.
This offseason, the Chicago Bulls hired Tiago Splitter and the Orlando Magic hired Sean Sweeney to be their head coaches. Splitter spent last season as the interim head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, but this is each of their first full-time head coaching jobs.
Splitter played six seasons on the Spurs under Popovich, and while Sweeney was an addition to Mitch Johnson's staff, he still got plenty of chances to pick Pop's brain.
Bulls and Magic Coaches Outline Pop's Impact
Every offseason, former Spurs figures are highly coveted hires. This summer, two have already been snapped up.
"To the Spurs organization, Brian Wright, RC Buford, the Holt family, Gregg Popovich, the whole front office, including Adam Glessner and Dave Telep, and of course, most importantly, my boss, Mitch Johnson, I'm very grateful for all you guys did for me, allowed me to be part of your program, to learn and help," said Sweeney as he got introduced as the Magic's coach.
Sweeney never worked directly under Popovich, but made sure that his office was right next to the former coach's, relishing every interaction they had.
"When you're next to a guy who's the greatest coach of all time daily, the fact that he even said hello and knew my name meant something to me," Sweeney added. "So yeah, Coach Pop built that program, and guys like me are fortunate to be part of it and very grateful, and that's part of the reason why I'm here now."
Splitter, meanwhile, had a longer relationship with Popovich, playing six seasons and winning a ring in San Antonio before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
He's been an assistant in Brooklyn, Houston, and Portland, and is taking over for Billy Donovan in Chicago.
"Pop was, of course, a great coach, mentor," Splitter said. "Of course, I'm not Pop, don't get me wrong, I'm not Pop. But he helped me with experiences. I saw what he did when certain things happened. And saw how he was dealing with situations. So I learned from it. The day-to-day thing, like how he treats players, I think he's one of the best, if not the best. How he made everybody feel involved is not a secret. Everybody talks about Pop, and he's probably the greatest, one of the greatest coaches ever."
Other NBA head coaches who served under Popovich as either a player or assistant include Steve Kerr, Will Hardy, Ime Udoka, Mike Budenholzer, Mike Brown, Avery Johnson, and Taylor Jenkins. Sam Presti also got his start in San Antonio's front office.
