San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich expects you to be on time for practice after drinking the night before.
Appearing on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Myck Kabongo, who split time between the Spurs and their G-League Austin Toros team shared that during a team dinner in 2013, Pop challenged him to drink more red wine.
“I had my one glass and he said to me, ‘That’s it,’ recounted Kabongo.
Kabongo, listened to his coach, but enjoyed the party a little too much, got drunk and the former 2011 McDonald’s High School All American was late boarding the team bus the next day and the Spurs fined him.
“I’ve never been drunk off wine.
“He’ll actually egg you on to keep drinking more wine.
“I was supposed to be on the 3 o’clock bus as a rook, but I got on the 4 o’clock bus. I ended up getting fined.”
Luckily for Kabongo, a couple of Spurs teammates saved the day.
“Thankfully I had great vets in Kawhi [Leonard] and Cory [Joseph] that took care of that fine for me,” Kabongo shared on Scoop B Radio.
Kabongo says that both he and Coach Popovich shared a laugh about it afterwards.
“He was laughing at me and talking about, ‘How was last night,’ he was like, “Don’t do it again!” and I’m like, ‘How are you gonna laugh at me and say don’t do it again? If your coach tells you to drink wine, then you drink it. Once you drink it you just don’t know when to stop!’ but that’s my little funny Coach Pop story.”
The longest tenured coach in the NBA, Gregg Popovich has won five NBA Championships as the head coach of the Spurs.
Myck Kabongo, who announced his retirement on the Scoop B Radio Podcast today, had multiple stops in the NBA G-League. He had a successful basketball career abroad which included a Canadian Elite Basketball League Championship in 2023.
In addition to his Popovich story, Kabongo spoke glowingly about the organization. “I’ve been blessed,” said Kabongo.
“If I didn’t have that my rookie year, I don’t know where I would have been as a player just because you learn what it means to be a professional. From being on time, preparing with your body, being a great teammate, communicating… because Tim Duncan was my vet when I was a rookie and just to see his leadership and the way that he goes about his business? Not much of the talking. It’s showing. And when I got to see the live form I was like, ‘Alright. Cool. I know what it is to be a professional.‘ And it helped me to have a ten-year career all around the world. Hindsight it would be nice to be in the league for however long of the tenure, but for me to play all over the world and have my story be like that, I think that was a blessing.
Kabongo says that Tim Duncan was his mentor when he came into the league and he soaked up all of the knowledge that he good from the Hall of Famer. “He called me over one day and he said, ‘You know what? You want to last long in this league? It’s about how you treat people and the work that you put in.‘ So when I heard from his mouth you have to think when it’s coming from someone of his stature saying that to you, that goes a long way. So, when you hear about me I always treat everybody well no matter who you are — you could be the janitor and you always hear people say it, but I’m really like that. I don’t treat nobody different. If you’re holding the door or you’re giving me a hundred million dollar check, I’m still going to treat you with the same respect that I’m supposed to treat humanity as I’m gracing the Earth that I’m living in.”
