Yang Yi selected Popovich as the greatest coach in NBA history!

The NBA playoffs are in full swing in the 24-25 season, but the Spurs meritorious coach Greg Popovich officially announced his resignation as head coach; the legendary coach who has been in charge of the Spurs for 29 years and has led the team to win five championships, his career came to an end. Shortly after the news of retirement was released, domestic basketball celebrity Yang Yi supported Popovich as the "greatest coach in NBA history", and the reason given was that there were many celebrities and disciples.

Yang Yi's selection criteria are very clear. Whether a coach is awesome or not, don't just look at the champion ring, it depends on whether he will train people. After all, in the public's perception, "Zen Master" Phil Jackson has 11 rings and is proud of the world. Although Popovich has ranked at the forefront of history for 5 championships, he seems to be a little bit worse than this one.

But Yang Yi insisted on playing the opposite tune. He threw out a series of names, making you lose the strength of refutation -

Duncan is the No. 1 pick, but Parker ranked 28th in the first round and Ginobili ranked 57th in the second round, these two brothers became FMVP-level stars in Bobo's hands. Bruce Bowen was a slump in the draft and became a defensive team in the first team of five years; Danny Green, a second round pick in the Spurs, became the three-pointer in the finals; George Hill, no one wanted it, and Popovich used him as the core training, and later exchanged for Leonard... Not to mention that Leonard himself was a 15-plus pick and was trained to become a FMVP for two years.

Of course, fans are divided into two factions. One angrily criticized "Popovich won for 20 years with Duncan", and the other squad supported "Without Bobo, can Duncan win 5 championships?" But it is undeniable that most of the names listed by Yang Yi were successfully counterattacked after "low pick". What magic does Popovich have that can turn "scrap materials" into a championship puzzle?

Parker was the French defender who ranked 28th in the first round in 2001. He was very famous when he first entered the league, but Popovich stared at his speed to fight to the death. What was the result? Parker made a breakthrough in "gyro rotation". In the 2007 Finals, he averaged 26.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, becoming the first foreign FMVP in the NBA.

Ginobili was the 57th pick in the second round in 1999, but Popovich regarded him as a "demon sword". In the 2005 finals, Ginobi used a snake-shaped breakthrough to tear the piston iron barrel formation and pulled the Spurs back from the edge of the cliff.

Let's talk about Danny Green. He ranked 46th in the second round in 2009. After being selected by the Cavaliers, no team wanted him, but Popovich treated him as a 3D training. In the 2013 finals, Green directly defeated the Heat. Although the nickname "Tielin" is accompanied by life, the more accurate it reaches a critical moment. Isn't this the "big heart" trained by Popovich?

The most amazing thing is Leonard. In the first round of 2011, the college coach said he "only dunks", but Popovich used George Hill as a bargaining chip to exchange him for it. From a defensive engineer to an offensive kaleidoscope, Popovich spent three years training Leonard into a "card-frame version of Jordan". In the 2014 finals, 22-year-old Leonard locked James and won the FMVP trophy.

Yang Yi's sentence "The coach must be good at cultivating people" is fully reflected in Popovich. He will suddenly yell at you during training, but the next second he will hug you and tell jokes. This "carrot and stick" routine has prevented the Spurs locker room from 20 years of internal strife.

What's even more amazing is Popovich's "undoubted employment". Bruce Bowen, a defensive player who was a loser, continued to wander in Europe; as a result, Bowen was selected for the defensive team for five times in the Spurs, becoming the hardest shield around Duncan.

Even the ability to "teach according to your aptitude" is convinced by the opponent. Parker plays the organization, Ginobili plays the sixth man, and Leonard is the defensive vanguard, Popovich can always put the right person in the right position.

Back to Yang Yi's selection logic, if you compare the number of championships, Popovich really can't beat the "Zen Master" and "Cardinale". But if it is compared to "educational ability", no one in the entire NBA history can compete with him. After Duncan retired, the Spurs' "Whampoa Military Academy" is still in operation - White, Dejunta Murray, Kelden Johnson. These low-coupled rookies can all make a fortune in the hands of Popovich.

What's even more terrifying is that Popovich's "disciples" have spread throughout the league, including Cole, Budenholzer, etc. These champion coaches are all from the "Spurs".

Now, 76-year-old Popovich retires, but he has left far more than five championships. When we argue about "who is the greatest coach in the NBA", it may be time to change the standard. The champions will fade over time, but the "low pick legends" trained by Popovich are worth savoring by young coaches.