San Antonio Spurs‘ run of two glorious decades, from 1995 to 2015, remains unparalleled. Whether you point to Tim Duncan or head coach Gregg Popovich, there are plenty of reasons for their sustained excellence.

However, it wasn’t just talent that made their run uniquely dominant. Instead, it was the interpersonal relationships that the group built. At the center of it, all was one head coach. In an exclusive interview before he earned his legendary recognition, some of his students revealed his impact.

Imminent HoF coach plays down his historic achievement

Like most grade-A origin stories, Gregg Popovich came from humble beginnings. As a coach at the Division III level for a small college by the name of Pomona-Pitzer, Gregg found his first footing. While not wholly successful, it gave him his first rub.

Of course, these days, Popovich is a name synonymous with greatness in the coaching position. For 20 seasons straight, he led the Spurs to a minimum of 50 wins. Further, the team even won 5 championships in the timeframe. He was so spectacular as a coach that Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers too wanted to do drills with him during Team USA practices.

While the team saw a lot of players make their way through the roster, the winningest coach in history made sure to build a camaraderie with each of them. But on the eve of his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, he still feels ‘unworthy’. ?If you?ve got to go into the Hall of Fame with Dirk, you?re not worthy. He?s worthy, I?m not.??

According to him, his success was a matter of circumstance. As he himself claims, ?I am the product of serendipity more than anything.” Through the years, he’s become one of the most beloved personalities in the entire league. Whether it’s his deep basketball analysis or hilarity, Pop is a constant highlight.

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Yet, he still feels like a stranger to the legendary honor. “I just never felt like I really belonged.? To his players, however, there is no person more befitting the honor.

Stars turn into fans of Gregg Popovich

As Duncan made sure to mention his own Hall of Fame speech, ?You came to my island, you sat with my friends and my family, you talked with my dad. I thought that was normal, but it was not.?

But, that’s, of course, Tim Duncan, one of the greatest players in league history. And, undoubtedly, the greatest from the Spurs franchise. Even at the minuscule level, Pop made sure to care.

But Gregg’s considerations didn’t end with Duncan. Tom Copa was a third-string Center for the Spurs in 1991-92 when Pop was an assistant with the team.

Forgetting a minor conversation with him would be easy for the legendary Gregg Popovich. However, that wasn’t his style. When he moved to San Francisco, he asked Copa to come to a tryout for $1,200. While Copa forgot, the 5-time Champ gave him a call asking for his address to send over the money.

?He tracked me down in the middle of Minnesota before the Internet,? Copa said. ?And it was because he owed me money. It wasn?t like he was looking for me to pay him.??For the man prized with developing the NBA’s newest sensation, the reasoning was simple: “A deal is a deal.”

Sure enough, the money order arrived for Tom a few days later. To excel at the highest level, and to continue to do so for two-plus decades, is an accomplishment in and of itself. But to remain a genuine, kind soul willing enough to care about his players is what separated Gregg Popovich from the rest.

As he enters the Hall of Fame that he feels unworthy of, every person associated with the NBA, whether it be a fan, player, analyst, or staff, knows there’s not a single person more worthy.

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