Coaches: Mentor Popovich and protege Kerr square off for second straight year.
Twenty years after they first became allies, as an aging player and unheralded head coach, Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich now count as uncomfortable adversaries — and two of the NBA’s most high-profile figures.
Kerr’s Warriors and Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs will collide in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, starting Saturday at Oracle Arena. They will share a warm pregame handshake, tell a few quick jokes and then retreat to opposite benches.
Here’s one measure of Kerr’s deep respect for Popovich: The Warriors coach cranked up his signature sarcasm when asked
Thursday about their relationship and how it influences their rooting interests.
“Pop doesn’t like to see me lose, but I like to see him lose,” Kerr said, barely suppressing a grin. “He’s had way too much success already, and I think sometimes Pop needs to be humbled a little bit. If we’re able to beat him, it would bring me great joy to see the anguish in his face.”
Kerr was kidding, naturally. He and Popovich routinely trade text messages and often get together for dinner when they’re in the same city. Kerr’s oldest son, Nick, works for San Antonio as a video assistant.
So, in reality, Kerr becomes an unabashed Spurs fan when they’re playing all teams other than the Warriors.
“I want Pop to win against anybody else,” Kerr said. “We’re that close. He’s my mentor, and he’s somebody I feel incredibly strongly about in terms of who he is and what he did for me in my life, and what he’s doing for my son right now.”
Their association dates to 1998, when Kerr, then 33 and unsure how much longer his career would last, joined San Antonio after five wildly successful seasons in Chicago (including three NBA championships). Popovich was 50, starting his third season as a head coach and without the league-wide reputation he now enjoys.
Kerr spent four years playing for Popovich, sandwiched around one season in Portland, and helped the Spurs win the title in 1999 and again in 2003. Kerr retired after the ’03 championship.
More than Popovich’s oncourt success, though, Kerr marveled at the way he interacted with his players. He asked about their lives, families and kids. Kerr appreciated how much Popovich cared about matters beyond basketball.
Not coincidentally, Kerr takes a similar approach with these Warriors — occasionally bringing in guest speakers and engaging players in candid conversations about politics and social issues, for example.
Still, their coaching styles are not entirely alike. Warriors forward David West, who played for Popovich with the Spurs in 2015-16, discovered this the past two seasons.
“Steve is not as feisty, maybe not as confrontational as Pop is at times,” West said. “But he’s a clear communicator and makes everybody feel as though their role is just as important as anybody else’s.”
West offered an illustration of Popovich’s occasionally abrasive manner. The Spurs, after collecting 55 regularseason wins, lost their firstround playoff series in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers in April 2015.
Nearly six months later, when the players convened for the start of training camp, Popovich unleashed his pentup anger. West, who wasn’t on the team the previous season, watched in shock as Popovich berated Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in front of their teammates.
“Day 1,” West said. “They had just lost to the Clippers the year before, and he hadn’t had a chance to cuss them out. It was crazy.”
Asked why this approach seems to work for Popovich, West replied, “I think it’s the type of guys he’s had there. They allow themselves to be coached and pushed. That’s why they’ve been so successful.
“It’s not so much him, it’s the willingness of the players to accept coaching over the course of time, regardless of what they’ve accomplished individually.”
Kerr, 52, and Popovich, 69, share another trait — their willingness to speak publicly on political issues. They both have been vocal critics of President Trump, and their outspoken views even sparked the creation of one website, www.popovichkerr2020.com, half-jokingly touting them as a potential presidential ticket in 2020.
The site sells T-shirts, mugs and mouse pads (among other items) featuring campaignstyle, silhouette likenesses of Popovich and Kerr, with the proceeds going to the ACLU and left-leading organizations. Neither Kerr nor Popovich is affiliated with the website, and each has dismissed the idea of running for public office.
They are more consumed with basketball right now, as the mentor and his protege square off again. No matter the outcome, Kerr clearly appreciates the way Popovich shaped him.
“He’s just an incredibly sharp, compassionate, fearless human being,” Kerr said. “It shines through not only in his coaching but in the way he approaches life. He made a big impact on me, and I didn’t really play that much for him. I did not have a good run with the Spurs … but it was an amazing experience.
“I look back to Chicago and learning from Phil Jackson, playing with those teams, and then the teams in San Antonio. The influence Phil and Pop had on me is just profound. It not only helped establish how I coach, but it helped in terms of how I look at the world and relationships. I’m incredibly lucky to have had those guys in my life.” Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick