Gregg Popovich’s influence at the heart of Warriors-Rockets coaching matchup

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SAN FRANCISCO — When Ime Udoka saw Gregg Popovich calling his phone Friday, hours before his Houston Rockets would take on the Golden State Warriors in a win-or-go-home Game 6 in their fierce first-round series, he already knew the nature of his mentor’s message.

Or so he thought.

The world had finally learned what Udoka had known weeks before, that Popovich’s medical issues that began with a stroke in November had forced him to cut his legendary coaching career with the San Antonio Spurs short after 29 seasons. He would be transitioning to a role as the team’s president of basketball operations alongside his longtime friend and front office executive R.C. Buford. The Spurs also announced that Mitch Johnson, who was part of Popovich’s staff as an assistant before taking over in his absence, would have the interim tag removed from his title.

Thank you, Coach Pop, for your brilliance on and off the court. We look forward to our next chapter together. pic.twitter.com/4x6AFpSmQM

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 2, 2025

So Udoka figured that Pop, who once convinced him to cut his playing career short for the chance to kick-start his coaching career on the Spurs sideline, was surely calling to reflect on their shared journey and friendship now that the news was official. That was indeed part of his reason for reaching out. But there was more.

The man whose legacy is best understood by studying his incredible coaching tree, and whose combination of five titles and the league record for wins puts him on the Mount Rushmore of all-time greats, had a few X’s and O’s thoughts to share about how Udoka’s Rockets could extend the series against this Warriors team that is led by another of Popovich’s beloved pupils, Steve Kerr.

“He gave me some pointers,” Udoka said with a grin.

Pop, as it turned out, wasn’t done coaching just yet. And while Udoka wasn’t about to share any details about their tactical discussion, the outcome said it all: Rockets 115, Warriors 107, with Game 7 looming Sunday.

As anyone who is part of Spurs illuminati knows, the curtain stays (mostly) closed on any private experience that involves the group’s celebrated founder. Their inner circle is like “Fight Club” in that way, a secret society of sorts that requires discretion as a means of preservation and respect. So when it comes to the game, the basketball world will likely never know which parts of the Rockets’ performance came with a dime from the silver fox.

Maybe it was the commitment to that zone defense that worked wonders against Steph Curry and his fellow frustrated Warriors. Or the two-big lineup that included Steven Adams and, free-throw concerns aside, proved wise in the end. Perhaps it had something to do with the Rockets’ counterpunch to the Warriors’ defensive plan, with struggling guard Jalen Green still drawing so much attention that it made way for his backcourt mate, Fred VanVleet, to impress for the third consecutive game (29 points and eight assists).

Truth be told, the specifics of the latest Popovich assist are ultimately unimportant. But what does matter, and what Udoka discussed at length with The Athletic as he stood near the visitors locker room at Chase Center postgame, is that the man whose influence on coaches like Udoka has been such a hallmark of his tenure was still able to make his mark.

Of all the various branches on that Popovich tree — from Kerr to Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer, Brett Brown, Will Hardy, Becky Hammon, James Borrego and so many more — there is no tale like Udoka’s. The 47-year-old spent three seasons under Popovich as a player, from 2007-09 and his final season in 2010-2011, when he played just 20 games.

He was a role player during that last season, a 33-year-old nearing the end of his playing time in the NBA whose feisty defense and veteran voice helped him survive for parts of seven seasons. But the looming NBA lockout turned his attention to a new hoops chapter overseas, and Udoka envisioned spending the next few seasons making good money internationally before eventually making coaching his primary passion in his late 30s.

That all changed in the summer of 2012.

After just one season abroad, with Udoka having played for the UCAM Murcia club in the Spanish ACB League before returning to the States in the summer, he took a trip to the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas to support two players who came up through the Portland, Ore.-based AAU team, I-5 Elite, that he coached from 2006 to 2009. Yet while he was there because of Terrence Ross and Terrence Jones, both of whom had been drafted in the first round the month before, it was Popovich who was looking to make a special selection of his own.

“Pop grabs me and pulls me up in the stands,” Udoka remembered. “We’re at the top of the stands, and we go sit away from everybody. Then he’s like, ‘Jacque (Vaughn, who was a Spurs assistant coach at the time) is getting the Orlando head job, and there’s a spot open. I want you to think seriously about it.

“We’ll hit you in a few weeks. Just think about it, and (decide) if you want to keep playing, or you want to start coaching.”

As Udoka was well aware, vacancies were hard to come by on Popovich’s bench. Budenholzer had been an assistant there for 16 years, Brett Brown for nine, and the late Don Newman for eight. Even if a young coach like Udoka was good enough to be graced with the Popovich approval, that didn’t mean there was a seat next to him available. And as if the offer wasn’t flattering enough, Popovich made it clear that there would only be an interview process with other candidates if Udoka decided to decline.

“He basically said, ‘I don’t need to interview you. I know who you are, and what you’re about,’” Udoka said.

On the other hand, Udoka would be leaving real money on the table if he cut his playing career short. His agent was in talks with five international teams, with Udoka planning on pivoting to coaching after playing another two years. But this opportunity was too good, and too rare, to pass up. The notion of saying no to Pop just didn’t compute.

So after taking the time he was given, and continuing to stay in playing shape along the way, Udoka made up his mind and waited for the follow-up call.

“I was in the gym at (his alma mater) Portland State working out, and (Popovich) calls me up and says, ‘Did you think about it?’” Udoka said. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘If you’re gonna offer it to me, I’ll take it.’ And then he said, ‘Well, it’s yours. I’ll see you in a few weeks.’ I walked back in the gym, put the ball down mid-workout, and that was my last official, real workout.”

Udoka would learn under Popovich’s wing from 2012 to 2019 in San Antonio, a stretch that included the title in 2014, two Finals appearances in all and a Western Conference finals showing in 2017. The Spurs made the playoffs in each of those seven seasons, with Popovich’s record-tying streak of 22 consecutive playoff berths ending in 2020.

After spending one season each in Philadelphia and Brooklyn as an assistant, and interviewing for several head coaching jobs along the way, Udoka finally got his head coaching break when the Boston Celtics offered him their job in the summer of 2021. One of his first phone calls, naturally, was to Pop.

“I had interviewed for three or four years and missed a few opportunities that were close,” said Udoka, who — like Kerr — wore a white T-shirt featuring Popovich’s face before Game 6 as a tribute to the coach with whom he also won an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. “So I call him on FaceTime and say, ‘Boston offered me the job,’ and he’s on the treadmill walking when he gets choked up. You see him looking, and he starts crying, and he had to hang up. He was like, ‘I’ll call you back.’ He broke down. His voice is cracking. And he hung up.”

Beyond all the hoops history that Popovich was able to accomplish, or his subtle impact on this series that means so much to both Udoka and Kerr, it’s the fact that those phone calls keep coming that makes all of his proteges so grateful. Especially in light of what Popovich has been through these past five months.

“I just want to say thank you to Pop and to the Spurs organization for everything that they meant to me and my career,” said Kerr, who first met Popovich when he signed with the Spurs in 1999 and played for him in four of his last five seasons. “I know this is a pretty emotional day for the Spurs. It is for the entire NBA. The number of people Pop has influenced, the number of coaches in his coaching tree — it’s just incredible.

“Pop is one of the most important people in my life for many, many reasons. Most of them go way beyond basketball. It’s a sad day. It’s also an encouraging day, I think, because this is a natural transition for him organizationally to move into his next role. I think it also gives him the space and the time that he needs to recover from the health issues. So I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions today, mainly just my love for Pop, my empathy for him, for what he’s gone through for the Spurs organization. All of the above.”

He’s certainly not alone.

(Photo of Gregg Popovich and Ime Udoka: Ronald Cortes / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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