DeMar DeRozan and Gregg Popovich have a bond that is bigger than basketball

Yesterday at 07:44 PM

DeRozan was only in San Antonio for three seasons, but in that time formed a close relationship with his coach that endures to this day.

The DeMar DeRozan era in San Antonio wasn't particularly successful. The Spurs remained somewhat relevant, chasing play-in spots, but mostly came up short of making the playoffs. It wasn't DeRozan's fault, as he was always a professional and played up to his career standards, but both the player and the team probably consider those years forgettable.

Off the court, however, an indelible bond was being formed. As DeMar DeRozan suffered the loss of his father, Gregg Popovich did all he could to make things easy for his star and DeRozan hasn't forgotten about it. In a recent interview on ESPN's podcast Brian Windhorst and The Hoop Collective, he told a story of how supportive his then-coach was:

There were many times where, it was certain games, when Pop would come and ask me something and he'd tell me after the game "Just go home. Just go home. We have shootaround in two days. You don't have to be at shootaround. Just be ready for the game. There were so many games I had in San Antonio where in between games I wasn't there. I was tending to my dad. And he allowed me to do that with no distractions, with no nothing. Telling me "You don't have to worry about the media." And it was the coolest thing because there were so many moments I cherish with my dad during that time that Pop allowed me to do it with no issue at all.

The whole interview with DeRozan, who is on a press tour for his memoir "Above the noise," is worth a listen, as he's candid about his battle with depression, but the section about Pop is heartwarming. The star wing also mentions he was nervous about asking Pop to write the foreword for his book and that people shouldn't expect to see his former coach in the public eye once he retires.

It's not the first time DeRozan talks about Pop being supportive during his trying times dealing with his father's passing. Back in June, during an appearance on the 25/10 Show DeRozan gushed about Pop, who he called "the OG of OGs" and "the realest individual I've ever been around" before telling a touching anecdote about one of the worst nights of his life:

My pops had passed when I was playing in San Antonio. We were stuck in Charlotte and I called the GM like "yo, bro, I'm about to fly home tonight, I'm about to try to get a plane outta here, I gotta get home. My pops just passed." So I call the GM. I didn't want anybody to know, I didn't want it to be all in the media. Literally 90 seconds later I hear a knock on the door. It's Pop. Pop sat in a room with me and cried with me for about two hours. He was like "I'm not leaving until you leave." And that just showed the person he was.

It's refreshing to see an athlete be as open about his struggles as DeRozan is, in part because it allows the fans, who often don't see players or coaches as human, to get a peak at the real people wearing the jerseys and calling the plays. DeRozan is a six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA player who could still make some noise with his new team, the Kings, but his work talking about mental health is probably his biggest achievement.

As a positive byproduct of that work, Spurs fans get more stories that corroborate that the legendary coach they have enjoyed for decades is not just a good strategist but also a good person.