Carter Bryant reveals what it's like to have Gregg Popovich helping him behind the scenes

Playing for the San Antonio Spurs often requires meeting high standards. That has been instilled within the franchise's history by longtime head coach and current team president Gregg Popovich. While Mitch Johnson has taken over as the head coach, Pop is still present at the Spurs' practices and daily activities.

As a player who just wrapped up his first NBA season, Carter Bryant seems to have learned from some of the best mentors he could have. However, Coach Pop is probably the biggest influence on him outside of the people who are with him day-to-day.

Carter Bryant gives a glimpse into what it's like having Gregg Popovich as a mentor

The Spurs had a surprising 2025-26 season despite not having Popovich as the head coach anymore. However, it seems he still had a special influence on the players because he is present quite often at the Spurs' training facility. This is proven by almost every player who has been asked about his impact on them.

Bryant is just one of the young players who are in awe of Popovich's impact on the team. The incoming second-year player knows that Coach Pop has played a role in previous iterations of the Spurs, and while he was not the head coach, he had a profound impact on Bryant and his teammates.

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For the players who have worked under him, they have all realized why Coach Pop is such a respected figure. Bryant realized that throughout his first NBA season because he regularly got to interact with the five-time champion head coach.

"Coach Pop crazy. I love it because he’s a maniac. Like it’s so much fun because myself, my dad coached, my uncle coached in the league a little bit... Just being around the game and understanding it, like I would sit there with Coach Pop for like an hour and a half after practice and we would just talk about the most random things," Bryant said on The Road Trippin' Show about his relationship with Popovich.

"Like he was just telling me stories about stuff with Kawhi or when he was coaching Bruce Bowen, or he’s coaching certain guys that ended up being hell of players."

It is not a surprise that Coach Pop is so popular among the players he has coached over the years. He has cemented himself as the greatest coach in Spurs history, and since he is still around, the younger players like Bryant, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Victor Wembanyama are all benefiting from his teachings.

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