Gregg Popovich delivered rousing speech to Spurs before Game 3: report
· Yahoo Sports
The San Antonio Spurs went into Madison Square Garden and notched a 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
This win marked the Spurs’ first win of the championship series after dropping both Game 1 and Game 2 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center.
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While legendary NBA coach Gregg Popovich is no longer at the helm for the Spurs, the 77-year-old “El Jefe” is still involved with the organization. Before the Spurs’ went wheels up to head to New York, Popovich boarded the team plane to deliver a rousing pregame speech.
Popovich’s speech lasted about 10 minutes, and he spent an additional 20 minutes speaking to individual players while sitting next to Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, according to a report from NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic.
San Antonio’s veteran point guard De’Aaron Fox revealed some of what Popovich had to say.
“He basically said that even though we dug ourselves a hole, that we can dig ourselves out of it,” Fox told Amick. “He told us just to be confident — to come out here and be confident, that there’s a reason why we got here.”
Finals news and notes, at @TheAthletic
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 10, 2026
* On Gregg Popovich’s pre-Game 3 plane speech in San Antonio
* Talking with Steph Castle about why he pushed his way to San Antonio in the draft (and not Houston)
* Sources: Kings and Hornets talk Sabonis tradehttps://t.co/wj3lVkYA23
The Spurs played well with their backs against the wall at Madison Square Garden. Wembanyama had his best game of the series, recording 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Stephon Castle recorded 23 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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