Gregg Popovich’s 2010 comments resurface amid NBA ‘world champions’ debate
Apr 10, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich looks on during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles sent social media abuzz with his comments dissing one aspect of the NBA Finals during the World Athletics Championships held in Budapest last week.
Lyles went on a rant against the use of “world champions” to describe the winner of the NBA Finals. Several NBA stars, including Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, were not pleased with Lyles’ comments.
Lyles’ viral comments led to a similar “world champions” remark from San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from 2010 to resurface online. Popovich spoke out on the Celtics’ championship banners hanging in the TD Garden which called them “world champions.”
Popovich called the words “not appropriate,” stating that, at the time, Spain was considered the world champion, while the USA was the Olympic champion — not the 2010 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
“There are no world champions in the NBA, so anybody that has the flag up that says world champions is not correct. … I don’t remember anybody playing anybody outside our borders to get that tag. Isn’t that true? I keep waiting for somebody to tell me I’ve missed something.’ … I know sometimes we as arrogant Americans don’t respond to the rest of the world, but it’s true. There’s a big world out there,” said Popovich in 2010, via Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The topic remains completely polarizing for most fans. On one hand, the cities represented in the NBA all hail from North America. There are also several talented squads around the world, with a few that roster former NBA players as well.
But on the other hand, the NBA is unequivocally the best league in the world that features over 120 international players from 40 different countries. There’s little doubt that the best teams in the US league would handily dispatch any challengers from other leagues around the globe.
It’s a debate that will likely never have a definitive answer.
