Gregg Popovich denies interest in presidential run with Steve Kerr, though pair continue to speak out

A presidential run isn’t likely for Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr, though the idea isn’t going away. (Getty Images)
A presidential run isn’t likely for Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr, though the idea isn’t going away. (Getty Images)
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Gregg Popovich has repeatedly stated that he has no interest in running against Donald Trump for president of the United States.

Yet every time the San Antonio Spurs coach speaks out on anything other than basketball — like he did in February while discussing the NBA’s promotion of Black History Month — that idea quickly resurfaces like clockwork.

The same goes for Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who holds similar political and social values and often speaks his mind on topics unrelated to basketball or the NBA. Just days after the mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 dead, Kerr was blunt in his criticism of elected officials.

The Popovich/Kerr ticket in 2020, which seems to be growing support every day, is something that many NBA fans — and even just the average American — seem to be entertaining at least on some level. There are even multiple websites that are encouraging them to run, and even selling campaign style merchandise.

Yet the pair running for political office doesn’t seem to be one that will happen any time soon.

“Both [Kerr and I] realize that we’re not built or qualified for such an office, nor do we desire it,” Popovich told The Bay Area News Group on Thursday.

But after the way the previous election went — with a business man and reality television host rising to the highest office in the Untied States — many are saying that it’s possible for Popovich to succeed were he to run.

“Honestly, would Popovich being president be crazier than Donald Trump being president? I don’t think so,” Daniel Dale, the Washington bureau chief for the Toronto Star, told CBS Sports in November. “I think it’s much crazier that Donald Trump is president, given what we know about his past and how he behaved during the campaign. Obviously it’s highly speculative, it’s very unlikely, but I don’t think we can write it off.”

Kerr said that playing for Popovich — which he did in the late 1990s and early 2000s — was completely different than playing for any other coach. Popovich was always encouraging his players to step up and express their views outside of basketball, even separating players into groups based on their stances on a political candidate or a tax increase, for example.

Kerr, Popovich said, always spoke up when discussions arose about non-basketball issues, which is where their friendship took off.

“That’s where it started and we just continued from there,” Popovich said. “We’ll text each other right now when something will happen or something will be said by the current administration that’s just mind-blowing and nobody does anything about it. The congressmen are all sitting on their thumbs afraid of him. It always intrigues us.”

The two coaches will face off on Thursday night in Oakland, something that has never been easy for either of them. Popovich even said it’s a little awkward, simply because he hates to see Kerr ever lose.

Regardless of their futures in the NBA or otherwise, the two don’t see their bond dying down anytime soon.

“We will talk and text long after we’re both done coaching,” Kerr said. “He will remain one of my best friends.”

Just don’t expect them to be in the White House any time soon.

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