San Antonio Spurs Make More Coaching History in 2014-15 Season
By Jonathan Brannon
@jbrannon89
Getty Images
The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are slowly making progress as the season begins to unfold. As everyone tries to get healthy, the Spurs have been forced to shift the roster around according to who is physically capable of playing. However, the players are not the only ones affected by the injury-illness bug. Gregg Popovich was out for the Spurs’ Wednesday night game vs. the Indiana Pacers, which caused a historic ripple effect among the San Antonio coaching staff.
Ettore Messina, from Italy, became the first European-born coach to be the head coach in an NBA game. The Spurs are usually league leaders in all things foreign, so this really is not a huge surprise, but it does demonstrate the growth of the league outside the United States.
This still wasn’t the only historic coaching move of the night as Becky Hammon, the first female assistant in the NBA, moved up alongside Messina to take a more involved role. Hammon usually sits behind Popovich and other assistant coaches during regular season games. In this role, Hammon was able to speak more than usual during the game about strategy and adjustments.
Pop will obviously come back from illness to coach the Spurs, but there is something to be said for the future of the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich has often joked (we think) about leaving when Tim Duncan retires. While Duncan may or may not retire this season, it’s likely to happen within the next few years. Popovich can’t coach forever, either (we think), and so Spurs fans are left to wonder what will happen to this organization when two of the most dominant people in the league decide to hang it up.
As in many organizations, the Spurs are looking for the best talent, no matter where it comes from. The team is full of non-American players, and the staff has some foreigners and a woman. No matter what happens to the Spurs, fans in San Antonio have to be excited for the groundbreaking possibilities ahead.
Jonathan Brannon is a San Antonio Spurs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jbrannon89, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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