Spurs’ Gregg Popovich talks LeBron James’ career, their relationship and activism off the court

CLEVELAND– What do LeBron James and the superhero Black Panther have in common?

According to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, James provides the same level of inspiration to kids. And Popovich can tell that much without even having seen the new Marvel film.

Prior to the Spurs taking on the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon, Popovich was asked a litany of questions about James, given their unique relationship. The two have faced each other in three NBA Finals, once in 2007 when James was with the Cavs, and twice in 2013 and 2014 when he was with the Miami Heat. They’ve also been connected through USA Basketball.

While he praised James’ physical and mental prowess, Popovich also said that James should continue to speaking out on social issues, mostly in response to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham’s “shut up and dribble” comments directed at James and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

“I don’t pick and choose what LeBron should talk about, just like any talking head should try to pick and choose what he talks about,” Popovich said. “It just, to me, when I heard about that, it was just an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else, if they can speak, what they can speak about, when and where to speak about it. It’s just ludicrous.

“To not have a feel for who this guy is – I mean think about when he came into the public view. How old was he? To this day, he hasn’t missed a step, hasn’t fallen off the ledge. He’s been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids of lesser opportunity who haven’t had the same advantages as others. They see in this guy someone who has consistently exhibited excellence in the workplace and that gives them a voice, lets them know that you can speak about anything. There really is a first amendment. They can have opinions. As a coach, as a plumber, as an astrophysicist, as a lowly reporter, they can have any opinions they want.

“That’s what is amazing about this when you look at this guy, all the millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars he’s given, tens of millions of kids that see him, that are inspired by him. It’s kind of like the Black Panther movie. How cool is that for kids to see that? To have that superhero. LeBron has been like that for a long time, and for someone to be totally numb to that and attack him in such a childish way really speaks volumes about that individual than it does LeBron. He’s very, very special. We should all be very proud that we have somebody like that who is willing to speak about a variety of topics, and you’ve listened to the lot.”

Pop on Laura Ingraham’s LeBron comments: “For somebody to…attack him in such a childish way really speaks more volumes about that individual than it does LeBron. He’s very, very special. We should all be very proud that we have somebody like that who’s willing to speak… “ pic.twitter.com/nuoaCQC7uQ

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) February 25, 2018

Along with off-the-court activism, Popovich also tackled James’ production throughout his 15-year career. While James is no doubt a physical marvel on the court, Popovich said he continues to be more impressed by the mental attributes of James’ game.

“The physical part doesn’t really excite me that much,” Popovich said. “He obviously is a good athlete, there’s a lot of good athletes in the league. His innate understanding of the game and spatial awareness of everybody else on the court, what’s needed at a specific time because of the situation in the game, all those sorts of things are way more special. Beyond that, I think he has even possibly more impact off the court, what he does for other people and the way he speaks.”

While the mental aspect is impressive, Popovich still said that the physical part of James’ game makes him a sight to behold in the legendary coach’s eyes. So much so in fact, that Popovich said he has to make sure he doesn’t get caught just watching him, like he jokingly said he used to do coaching against Michael Jordan.

“I just have to make sure I don’t stare at him all night like I did when he came in the league and when we played the Bulls. I’d just watch Michael the whole time, and Larry Brown would elbow me like, ‘You going to do something to coach?’ I said, ‘I got to watch, I got to see this guy.’ You get like that with LeBron too, because he does so many things. And I hope he keeps speaking. I’m sure he will.”

Pop says when coaching against LeBron you gotta make sure you don’t fall into the habit of watching him. Again says he hopes he keeps speaking out. pic.twitter.com/35dCfdVVxk

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) February 25, 2018