Gregg Popovich was born on the 28th January 1949, in East Chicago, Indiana, USA, and is a professional basketball coach. Known as “Coach Pop” or simply “Pop”, he is the NBA coach with the longest active career, spanning 43 years, and currently leading the San Antonio Spurs.
You must be wondering how rich Gregg Popovich is? According to sources, the total amount of Pop’s fortune is estimated at $20 million as of early 2016, which has been accumulated through his coaching career, guiding Spurs to multiple championship titles.
Gregg Popovich Net Worth $20 Million
Pop, who was born into the family of Serbian (father) and Croatian (mother) descent, started playing basketball while he attended the United States Air Force Academy, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Soviet studies. Showing potential, Pop was named the team’s captain and also, as a senior, was leading scorer. In 1972, the team won the Amateur Athletic Union basketball championship.
His coaching career officially began in 1973 when he became an assistant coach of the Air Force Academy team, which he held for the next six years. During this period, Popovich continued his education at the University of Denver and graduated with a master’s degree in physical education and sports science. From 1979, he spent eight years coaching Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, California. In the 1986-87 season, Pop volunteered as an assistant coach to Larry Brown at the University of Kansas. These engagements provided the basis for his net worth.
Popovich’s collaboration with Larry Brown continued in 1988, this time in San Antonio, where he worked as the lead assistant coach until 1992. Since 1992, due to team restructure, he was with the Golden State Warriors until returning to the Spurs’ bench in 1994 when he became general manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations. Two years later, he was appointed the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach which he is still to this day. Gregg Popovich is currently the coach with longest tenure with any team in the history of the NBA, and earning a reputed $6 million a year. His successful streak with the Spurs has been the main source of his overall net worth.
Pop was also an assistant coach of USA Men’s Senior Basketball Team three years in a row – at the World Basketball Championship (2002), the FIBA America Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament (2003) and the Summer Olympic Games in Athens (2004).
In his dynamic and dramatic coaching career, Greg Popovich has won five NBA Championships with the San Antonio Spurs, in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, and has also earned NBA Coach of the Year Award three times so far, in 2003, 2012 and 2014. All these accomplishments have made him one of the most “decorated” as well as one of the top five highest paid professional sport coaches, which his impressive overall net worth certainly confirms.
When it comes to his personal life, there are no rumors or any controversies. Gregg Popovich has been married to Erin Popovich, daughter of Air Force Academy athletic trainer Jim Conboy, for over 36 years and they have two children.
Apart from coaching, Gregg has been involved in various charities and community programs – San Antonio Food Bank, Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives and the Kids Sports Network. He is also the co-founder of the Spurs/Pizza Hut Drug-Free Youth Basketball League.
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