Spurs' Gregg Popovich ties Don Nelson for most coaching wins in NBA history after victory over Lakers

With the San Antonio Spurs' 117-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on March 7, Gregg Popovich is now tied with Don Nelson as the two winningest coaches in NBA history. The Spurs snapped a four-game losing streak in their victory over the Lakers, and it gave Popovich his 1,335th career win, which ties Nelson for the most the league has ever seen over a head coaching career.

The primary difference between the two legendary coaches is that Nelson accumulated his wins across four different franchises in five total coaching stints. Nelson led the Bucks, Warriors, Knicks and Mavericks, but Popovich has only ever coached a single NBA team.

In 1996, Popovich, then serving as San Antonio's general manager, fired Bob Hill and inserted himself as his team's head coach. That proved to be one of the best moves he ever made. The Spurs have since become one of the winningest teams in NBA history under Popovich's watchful eye. He's won five championships in San Antonio, reached the NBA Finals a total of six times and helped develop a number of unheralded prospects like Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker into superstars.

Now the 73-year-old Popovich is leading a much younger team. His Spurs almost certainly won't reach the playoffs this season as they rebuild around first-time All-Star DeJounte Murray, but Popovich has remained in place to help oversee the transition into the next era of Spurs basketball. In the process, he picked up the last few wins he needed to make history.

Now Popovich will have a chance to break the tie with Nelson as soon as Wednesday, March 9, when the Spurs play the Toronto Raptors. Popovich has already won NBA championships and a gold medal while leading Team USA at the Olympics. He is a lock to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. This record will be the cherry on top of one of the greatest coaching careers in basketball history.

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