Coming into Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs were still alive in the Western Conference playoff chase. However, the Spurs needed a great deal of help from the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies and, by the time San Antonio tipped off against the Utah Jazz in prime time, Gregg Popovich and company knew that their postseason hopes were dashed. While that would be a difficult reality for any team, the result also meant that the Spurs’ legendary playoff streak is over and, after the Spurs’ 118-112 loss to the Jazz, Popovich was asked for his thoughts.
As part of a lengthy press conference in which Popovich praised his team for playing at a high level in Orlando, he also broke into an apparent impersonation of President Donald Trump, using the “fake news” descriptor and joking as if the playoff streak did not, in fact, come to a close.
“Who said the streak ended? It’s fake news. It’s total fake news. Lot of guys have been telling me the streak hasn’t ended. I talk to people all the time, they call me, they tell me ‘Pop, the streak didn’t end.’ It didn’t.“
Gregg Popovich nails this Donald Trump impersonation
pic.twitter.com/QDBkNZ9S5p
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) August 14, 2020
Popovich has not been shy about criticizing Trump in the past, making his less than positive thoughts known on multiple occasions. This time, he did so in light-hearted fashion, though he was able to get a more subtle point across in the process.
The San Antonio Spurs made the NBA Playoffs every season for more than two decades but, before the team exited the Orlando bubble, the face of the franchise managed to make news in on-brand fashion.