NBA Popovich is top coach, led Spurs to best record

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Gregg Popovich won the NBA Coach of the Year award Monday for leading the San Antonio Spurs to the league's best record.
Popovich, the first Spurs coach to win the award, received 40 out of a possible 121 first-place votes from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Golden State Warriors coach Eric Musselman was second with 26 first-place votes, and Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was third with 18.
The Spurs went 60-22 and won their third straight Midwest Division title under Popovich, who became coach in December 1996.
Credited others
He gave credit for the award to his staff and players, particularly Tim Duncan.
"A few years ago, we won the No. 1 pick in the lottery," he told reporters. "Everybody raise your hand -- if we hadn't gotten Duncan, who thinks Popovich would still be standing here?"
San Antonio once trailed Dallas by 81/2 games in the division this season, but beginning Jan. 1 the Spurs went 41-9 to pass the Mavericks in the final week of the season.
Popovich has a regular season record of 339-185, giving him the most wins of any San Antonio coach, and he has a .647 winning percentage over seven seasons.
The Spurs have won at least 50 games in five of the past six seasons. In the strike-shortened 1998-99 season, San Antonio was 39-13 and won its first NBA championship.
Besides being the Spurs' coach, Popovich was the team's general manager from 1994 to 2002 before giving that job to R.C. Buford before the start of this season.
Popovich started with the Spurs in 1988 as an assistant to coach Larry Brown, a position he held for four years.