Throughout the years, the San Antonio Spurs have been home to some great players. Obviously, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and David Robinson are the first that come to mind, but the organization has fielded some solid rosters since the conclusion of the Duncan era, too.
Most notably, LaMarcus Aldridge quietly put in a solid shift in San Antonio. According to total win shares, he’s the 10th-best player in franchise history. However, while he found an underrated amount of success with the Spurs, Aldridge didn’t always get along with Gregg Popovich. He said as much during a recent podcast appearance. (H/t Mike Taylor of Inside the Spurs)
While speaking with the “Oddball” podcast with Amin Elhassan and Charlotte Wilder, Aldridge revealed that he butted heads with coach Popovich.
“That’s when I got to San Antonio and we were winning 60 games that first year,” Aldridge said. “And we were up 30 (points) at halftime every time and I wanted to play the fourth (period). Pop would fight me and be like ‘No, you can’t play the fourth.’ I’m just like, ‘I need my rhythm,’ so like I want to go back in the game in the fourth.”
It makes sense that Aldridge would want to play as much as possible, but from the Spurs’ perspective, protecting their star player makes sense.
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