The San Antonio Spurs struggled early during the 1996-97 NBA season.
As their best player, David Robinson, rehabilitated his lower back, the injury-ravaged Spurs lost 15 of their first 18 games. With Robinson set to return to the lineup, the team’s general manager made a coaching change. He fired Bob Hill and named himself as Hill’s replacement.
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At the time, Gregg Popovich had no NBA head coaching experience. He bet on himself and won big. In the process, he formed a partnership with Robinson that transformed San Antonio into perennial winners. They went on to lead the Spurs to NBA championships in 1999 and 2003.
Without Popovich and Robinson—both military veterans with a deep regard for those who served the United States in uniform—the Spurs’ legacy might not be what it is today. With the current version of the Spurs facing the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals, the 77-year-old Popovich and the 60-year-old Robinson are undoubtedly watching with pride.
The Spurs aren’t what they are today without them.
Telling it Like it Is
Robinson connected with Popovich from the beginning. He appreciated that Popovich served five years in the Air Force. The newly installed coach’s direct approach in his interactions with players appealed to Robinson, who spent two years in the Navy after the Spurs selected him first overall in the 1987 NBA draft.
Popovich wasn’t one to mess around.
“He’ll come in and tell you like it is,” Robinson told “Undeniable with Joe Buck” in 2023. “He doesn’t care how you respond to it. He’s going to tell you what he thinks, and I like that. I don’t like games. I don’t want somebody coming in and fake yelling at me. Tell me what’s wrong and tell me whether you trust me or not.”
Popovich and Robinson not only served in the military. So did their fathers. While Popovich’s dad, Raymond, served in the Army during World War II, Ambrose Robinson was a Navy man.
The coach and his exceptionally skilled center also played basketball at military academies. A lanky 6-foot-3 guard, Popovich was a decent player at the Air Force Academy and was chosen a team captain as a senior. The 7-foot-1 Robinson was on another level. He starred for four years at the Naval Academy and propelled the Midshipmen to their greatest season. As a junior, Robinson guided Navy to the 1986 East Regional final.
A decade later, they tried to extract the Spurs from a deep early hole. Then an injury sidelined Robinson again.
“He Knew What He Wanted to Accomplish”
Robinson played six games for San Antonio in December 1996 before breaking his left foot. The Spurs held Robinson out for the rest of that season, a decision that resulted in a horrendous record. The franchise won only 20 games that season, but during those lean times, Popovich learned to adapt to coaching in the NBA.
Robinson saw Popovich becoming more comfortable.
“He knew what he wanted to accomplish…, so guys started to buy into it,” Robinson told Buck. “That really was the big turnaround. That was when things started falling into place.”
It didn’t hurt that the Spurs won the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft lottery after that season and used it to select Tim Duncan. Pairing Robinson with Duncan spearheaded the Spurs’ rise to the top of the league. In Popovich’s second full season as coach, the Spurs defeated the Knicks in five games in 1999 for the franchise’s first NBA title.
Four years later, San Antonio knocked off the then-New Jersey Nets in six games in the NBA Finals. Robinson retired after that series, ending a sterling 14-year career.
Winning Big
Spurs win the 1999 NBA Title
Popovich always appreciated Robinson’s contributions to the team.
“We’d finish a game and start taking David for granted so much,” the longtime coach told Andscape in 2024. “We’d say, ‘Damn, David, did he rebound tonight? What did he score tonight?’ I’m thinking he got 12, 15 points. And you look at the stats and [he had] 24 points and 11 rebounds and three blocks. And you didn’t realize it while the game was going on, because you expect it from him.”
Robinson usually delivered. So did Popovich—one of only five NBA coaches all time with at least five championships. Popovich attained that many during his remarkable 29-year stint on San Antonio’s bench. He stopped coaching in 2025, several months after suffering a stroke.
After their careers, Robinson and Popovich both earned induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Their bond formed the initial pillars of the Spurs’ sustained success, not that they didn’t face challenges.
“Part of it is just focus,” Robinson told SI Now in 2018 of Popovich’s success. “You learn that in the military. You have a mission to do, and you stay focused on your mission.”
