“He knew what I could do.”
On Friday’s episode of “Stadium,” Danny Green reflected on his time with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich.
In his nearly 15-year NBA career, Green has won championship rings with three teams (San Antonio, Toronto, and the Lakers). But it was with San Antonio that Green shined the brightest.
The 46th overall pick in the 2009 draft, 온라인카지노 Green flew under the radar when he made his NBA debut. Reflecting his low pick, he wasn’t given much playing time with his debut team, Cleveland, and was eventually released shortly thereafter.
Green’s career took a turn for the better after joining San Antonio. Gregg Popovich, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, took full advantage of Green’s three-point shooting and defense, and Green worked tirelessly to survive as a starter on the Spurs’ roster.
While he has a great relationship with most of his players off the court, Popovich is also a fiery coach on the court, and sometimes a strong charisma is more beneficial to a player’s development than gentleness. One of the most important qualities of a coach is finding the right way to coach a player to help them grow.
Green credits Popovich for pushing him to improve his game.
“Greg Popovich knew what I was capable of and he knew how to get the most out of me, so he pushed me to extremes by being much harsher with me than most other players,” Green recalls.
“He knew that I played better when I was angry. He understood me well and knew how to make me angry. He created a sense of urgency where I was playing basketball and made me play my best.”
During his long tenure in San Antonio under Popovich’s powerful charisma, Green was one of the league’s premier 3-and-D resources. He is a career 40.0 percent shooter from three-point range as he enters the final stretch of his career.