NBA Fans react to LeBron James’ appreciation post for Gregg Popovich.
LeBron James and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of history. They’ve faced each other in the NBA finals three times already, once in 2007 when the Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0. Then, in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014, which the Miami Heat and the Spurs split 1-1.
Despite always being on opposing sides, both LeBron and the long-time Spurs coach have showered each other with praises throughout the years. LeBron showed his appreciation for Popovich again through a tweet after the Lakers took on the Spurs on Friday (Feb. 23).
Several of the fans who saw LeBron’s post took it as an indication of his future in the league, with several commenting that he and Gregg Popovich are joining forces soon.
“Plot twist LeBron and Bronny go play with Wemby in SA lol,” one fan said, perhaps jokingly.
One fan shared a fantasy that would certainly be an interesting sight to see if it does happen.
Another fan took it even further, alluding to the recent rumors that the Spurs are interested in acquiring Trae Young to pair with Victor Wembanyama.
However, a few others were more serious with the LeBron to Spurs comments, with one fan saying it was certainly a possibility.
One fan also took the opportunity to turn the moment between LeBron and Gregg Popovich into a Darvin Ham joke.
Many of the comments were simply ones that expressed admiration for two of the NBA’s greats in their respective fields.
LeBron James played in his first NBA finals against Gregg Popovich’s Spurs
LeBron James would probably have two more rings if he didn’t run into the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
LeBron finally overcame the Eastern Conference and made his first-ever finals appearance with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2007. It was a huge moment for the young star, but the Spurs shut him down quickly. Gregg Popovich created a defensive scheme that limited LeBron’s effectiveness throughout the series, and the Spurs swept the Cavs to win their fourth NBA title.
The Spurs defense held LeBron James to 35.6% field goal shooting in those four games, which was far below his 47.6 FG% during the 2006-07 regular season.
In Game 1, LeBron only scored 14 points on a 4-for-16 shooting clip (25.0%). He scored 25 points in Game 2, but the Spurs made him work for it, as he went 9-for-21 from the field (42.9%). He also had six turnovers in each of these games.
He scored 25 points again in Game 3, but he had an even worse shooting performance than in the second game, going 9-for-23 (39.1%) from the field and 0-for-5 from downtown. He committed five turnovers as well.
In the final game, LeBron dropped 24 points on another inefficient shooting clip. He went 10-for-30 (33.3%) from the field and 2-for-7 (28.6%) from beyond the arc and turned the ball over six times.
