There is no doubt San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has made a tremendous impact on the franchise since becoming the coach in 1996.
He has guided the franchise to four NBA titles, won the NBA Coach of the Year twice, is the longest tenured head coach in all of the big four sports, and owns an overall .680 winning percentage in the regular season.
In this shortened season, Pop also help guide the Spurs to the best record in the Western Conference and a 15-game winning streak which includes a sweep of the Utah Jazz in the first-round of the playoffs. All of which led to Pop being named the 2011-12 NBA Coach of the Year.
And it is this kind of winning atmosphere is why he is paid the big bucks by Spurs owner Peter Holt — $6 million to be exact — and it is because of this Popovich ranks among the top-10 highest paid coaches.
Pop finished sixth overall (second to Celtics’ Doc Rivers) among the highest paid coaches in pro sports.
Safe to say he has earned every penny and continues to this season as the Spurs are up 1-0 in their semi finals matchup with the Clippers.