Are the Spurs last few seasons going to hurt Pop's reputation?

[ceiling raiser]

Rightly or wrongly, there's a lot of "what have you done for me lately" when people rate the careers of coaches. Other guys in the pantheon of great coaches didn't really stay around for terrible seasons, or at least had talent in those seasons:

Auerbach - Literally retired after an 8-peat lol and they failed to win a title for the first time since 1968 the next year.
Riley - He stayed around for that awful 07-08 season, however they did still have Wade and had Shaq for some time. He also transitioned back to the front office full time, and they won more.
Jackson - Retired after 2011. They still had Kobe and Pau, too. He wasn't a very good executive for the Knicks but people have mostly forgotten this.

These aren't the "best" three coaches all-time, per se (Daly, Hannum, Rudy T, all won multiple titles with high levels of difficulty, and frankly the single title that Brown, Bud, Carisle, Ramsay, and Nurse won were all nearly as impressive as multiple title runs from other coaches), but this is really Pop's competition all-time for "greatest" coaches.

The only other coaches all-time with 3+ championships are Kundla (who seems to be hand-waved away since his titles were pre-shot clock, even if this might be unfair) and Kerr (who is still early in his career). Honestly, if the Warriors win another ring post-KD, Kerr might get the nod over Pop among some.

All legendary coaches had legendary players, but I wonder if Popovich will be viewed as a product of Duncan, and to a lesser degree Robinson, Ginobili, and Leonard. Especially if they don't finish on a high note following a rebuild.

[The High Cyde]

No, I think his legacy is pretty much set. Which is a strong candidate for the GOAT coach.

[naabzor]

Lol close this thread please.

[Rich Michmond]

No, many successful coaches had mediocre stints at the end of their careers (Holzman, Motta, Adelman, Karl) and nobody seems to care.

[ceiling raiser]

No, many successful coaches had mediocre stints at the end of their careers (Holzman, Motta, Adelman, Karl) and nobody seems to care.

I don't disagree that Pop will be viewed as a successful coach. I just wonder if this hurts him in comparison to Auerbach, Riley, Jackson, and will to some extent vs Kerr. Those are his peers in terms of achievement all-time.

[brutalitops]

Nope

[JN61]

People forget these things and nobody pays attention to spurs failures at this point anyway so it's all good.

[IAMZOOTED2]

I love and respect what Pop has done for the game. His players went to war for him and still adore him... they have the bruises and trophies to show for it. What's more the guy has been doing more with less since Duncan, Manu, and Tony retired...

But I'm sure if you asked Pop, he would say that yes, these past few years of mediocrity do add at least a smudge.

[AdagioPace]

he had the balls to stay and coach a **** team (unlike Phil Jackson). His legacy doesn't depend on Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker's FG%

[Fadeaway_Jumper]

Nick Nurse has been a better coach then Popavich over the past few years. Even this year with less talent Raptors have a better record. I think Nurse is really underrated and Popavich has been overrated

[dhsilv2]

Doubt it changes anything, but for me I'll never really see Pop as a coach. he's the president of basketball operations. His role is far larger than that of just a coach.

[QingJames]

Nick Nurse has been a better coach then Popavich over the past few years. Even this year with less talent Raptors have a better record. I think Nurse is really underrated and Popavich has been overrated

I don’t think Nurse has less talent than Pop this year. And he’s not close to Pop in overall greatness right now. But I do think it was conspicuous that OP included Bud’s single title run as one of the most difficult ever but left Nurse off that list. Also kinda conspicuous that Spo wasn’t mentioned at all in the OP.

[hauntedcomputer]

Only on RealGM do fans have the attention span of a gnat. In ten years, his entire body of work will be there as a mass, crushing the minds of weak message-board arguments.

[ceiling raiser]

I don’t think Nurse has less talent than Pop this year. And he’s not close to Pop in overall greatness right now. But I do think it was conspicuous that OP included Bud’s single title run as one of the most difficult ever but left Nurse off that list. Also kinda conspicuous that Spo wasn’t mentioned at all in the OP.

Nurse is a good mention, I'll add him.

Spo only won two titles, neither of which was a high degree of difficulty, so he wouldn't qualify.

[Saul Goodman]

No he’s firmly set. 20 straight in the playoffs is next to impossible feat. I think there should be more to be said about his love and dedication to the game at this point more than just pure wins and losses. Eventually if you stay coaching long enough you’re going to end up coaching bad teams but the fact that he’s still going shows more than just pure wins and losses at this point.

[LofJ]

They have the least amount of talent in the league after the Rockets, Thunder, and Pistons. If anything they're slightly better record wise than you'd expect them to be.

[Bornstellar]

Lol no. He is one of the top 3 GOAT coaches and had probably the most impressive coaching job of all time from 2012-2014. Have you seen our rosters the last couple of years? No coach in history is doing anything with those teams

[ItsDanger]

Best coaches get the most out of the least. Tim retired when?

[Slim Charlez]

Here comes the monthly RealGm Pop bashing.

[Slim Charlez]

Nick Nurse has been a better coach then Popavich over the past few years. Even this year with less talent Raptors have a better record. I think Nurse is really underrated and Popavich has been overrated

Huh??? Have you actually seen both rosters? The Raptors have Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG, FVV while the Spurs have Dejounte Murray and?.... IDK who this Popavich is, but Nick Nurse definitely has a better roster to work with than Popovich.