Alongside a coaching career that is clearly all-time in all respects, Gregg Popovich is, as you may know, a great lover… of wine. Indeed, the Spurs coach, who has seen Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker parade under his orders, is very attached to his other passion: tasting beverages made from grapes. The orange balloon is his profession, the balloon glass is his pleasure.
How to start an article on Gregg Popovich’s love for wine without sending a very tempting comparison between his Spurs and the drink? In 20 years, his Spurs have matured and turned into a vintage that will be remembered for a very long time. The kind of bottle that can be opened for any occasion and in any year, while remaining a guarantee of a unique taste.
Le Pop’ also knows something about it: it has a cellar of around 3,000 bottles. A sacred stock which attests without any detour that the man is a connoisseur. In the NBA, many players are directly or indirectly linked to the pleasure of tasting and collecting good bottles of wine. An example ? Stephen Curry, who owns an estate with his wife Ayesha in the famous Napa Valley in California, known for its ideal Mediterranean climate and its production of prestigious wines, or even CJ McCollum, a committed amateur of good country bowling and himself a producer. However, the boss of the Great League in terms of passion for oenology is Gregg Popovich and no one else.
A nice little anecdote to support this point? Many prestigious league players, eager to learn about wine, have asked Pop’ to go to dinner over a good bottle. This is how Paul Pierce evokes a meal between Kevin Durant and the Spurs coach in Las Vegas.
“In Vegas, there was a moment when Kevin Durant went to Pop’ to ask him to teach him about wine. Pop jumped at the chance to take her out to eat, taste a bottle and talk to her about the different wines” – Paul Pierce.
Raised the hard way in the military of the US Air Force, nothing predestined the future coach of the Spurs to find a passion for the favorite drink of Dionysus. It was in fact upon leaving his studies that the technician from San Antonio learned to appreciate wine, since he was transferred to one of the most prestigious vineyards in North America, in the heart of California.
“When I graduated from the Air Force Military Academy, I was first posted to California in the early 70s. she is today. It was a time when you could go to the vineyards without paying anything, you were only with two other people. The winegrowers showed you everything and made you taste directly from the barrels. They would land with you, bring you food and spend the whole afternoon there. It was just great. I fell in love with wine at that time” – Gregg Popovich.
Gregg is also well known for not counting when it comes to having a good time around a good bottle. There are many anecdotes from players and coaches describing a man who used to show up in a restaurant several hours before the agreed meal time. The idea? Discuss with the staff and managers of the establishment, on the dishes and bottles offered on the menu. Yeah, it’s clearly a passion at that level.
And if you ever settle for Pop’ at the end of the evening? ESPN reporter Baxter Holmes explains that the coach was able to drop four-figure tips, but also tickets for Spurs games to restaurant employees. When you love, you don’t count, huh… and Don Nelson, a great NBA coach, demonstrates it with the numbers.
“He spends more on food and wine than I earn in salary” – Don Nelson
A love that will even push the man to join forces with specialists in wine production to move on to the other side of the business: that of the production of the drink. For several years, he has owned shares in several Oregon vineyards managed by the company A to Z wineworks, specializing in Pinot Noir. The culmination of a passion for the coach.
“I go there whenever I get the chance. I work with fantastic winemakers, and the managers are wonderful people. I have known them for a long time. They work together in a great way, so it’s cool to be part of it. It’s something different than basketball” – Gregg Popovich.
Someone as complex as wine, finally. Emphasizing his relationships with the players, Popovich often had a habit of summoning his troops to the restaurant to chat over a good evening of food. Passion at the service of work, what could be better in a serious life?
With several French under his command, such as Tony Parker but also Boris Diaw and Nando De Colo, Gregg Popovich was able to share his love of wine with the natives of the country producing the best vintages in the world. Boris Diaw has thus Explain that he has often had the opportunity to taste French wines with his coach. Also a lover of oenology, the former player of the Éperons probably did not shy away from his pleasure during the color and color analysis evenings.
A life spent satisfying his great pleasure, which can only end – as late as possible – after having tasted as many different references as possible. While having the certainty of having passed on his passion.
“My goal is to drink as much of it as possible before I die, so my kids won’t drink 7up and make sangria from wine. That’s my goal” – Gregg Popovich.
Winner in basketball, winner in wine. One doesn’t seem to go without the other at Gregg Popovich. An iron discipline, which finds its moments of respite in the cultivation of a prestigious passion. Look no further, we have almost defined what has made Spurs successful for almost 20 years.
Sources : ESPN, Yahoo Sports, Business Insider, Nouvel Obs