Spurs Effusive In Praise Of ‘Championship-Caliber’ Celtics

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich knows a thing or two about winning championships, so the Celtics must be pretty pumped after hearing how he described them on New Year’s Eve.

He wasn’t blowing smoke, either.

Boston put together another superb performance Sunday, leaving Frost Bank Center with a 33-point victory over an overmatched San Antonio squad. It was exactly what most people expected it to be, but also enough to impress those sharing the court with the C’s.

“They’re a championship-caliber team. That’s what they’re out there for, that’s their goal and they proved it once again. It’s a hell of a team,” Popovich told reporters in San Antonio, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “Joe (Mazzulla) does a great job with them. They got good talent obviously, All-Star talent, and they’ve got the grit, they got the execution and they are getting better all the time. That’s a tough challenge at this particular time for our group.”

Popovich has not only been able to see the Celtics grow, but he’s had a hand in their development. The 74-year-old coached Derrick White during his five seasons with the Spurs, and also spent time mentoring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with Team USA.

It isn’t often that competitors have that level of familiarity with each other, which is perfectly evident in Popovich’s star rookie Victor Wembanyama, who appeared in his first game against the Celtics on Sunday.

His view of Boston isn’t much different from Popovich’s, though.

“Just looking at them, I think I can feel that compared to past years, they have something extra this year,” Wembanyama said, per Robb. “It’s difficult to play against them and a good challenge. I think we’re learning today.”

The Celtics’ victory was the perfect way to end 2023, and hearing the words of their latest opponent isn’t exactly a bad way to start 2024.