Shocker: Gregg Popovich doesn’t care for All-Star PR campaigns

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich long ago established an identity as a no-nonsense, basketball-focused leader with little time for the sideshows of NBA fame. Even when increased media attention would benefit his team, Pop and the Spurs have eschewed the spotlight for privacy. It seems to suit them just fine.

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Sometimes, though, the basketball world encroaches on the Spurs’ bubble. Now that the starters have been announced for February’s All-Star Game in New York City, it’s time for the league’s head coaches to pick each conference’s reserves. Many teams have gone all out to promote their top players for the honor. You will be shocked to learn that Popovich does not pay much attention to these PR materials. From Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express News:

Pop cares not for your cute All-Star campaigns: “For those who sent me something, I just want them to know it immediately went in the trash”

— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneySAEN) January 24, 2015

More (and he was laughing): “Such pandering is embarrassing. We got it from several places and it immediately went in the trash can.”

— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneySAEN) January 24, 2015

No one, let alone the teams that sent the materials, should find this news surprising. Just imagine Popovich or any people who may have helped him with the All-Star process intently reading glossy sheets of paper emblazoned with stats and cute nicknames. It’s not going to happen.

We can only assume that the teams that sent out this info knew as much and followed through on the campaign for no reason other than the interests of doing a complete job. I can just imagine an un PR intern sheepishly suggesting to a supervisor that it might be a waste of postage money to overnight these materials to San Antonio, only to be given the silent treatment for the rest of the week. That’s not how they do things in the big leagues!

We will see if Pop’s continued disregard for playing nice comes back to bite his team when All-Star reserves are announced next Thursday. Given that seemingly half the NBA seems to be trying to run a version of the Spurs offense, I am guessing they will do just fine.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!

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