Inside the secret team dinners that have built the Spurs' dynasty
Leadership takes on many forms. The ties that bind teams are not just the skills of the players, the playbook, the logo and mascot, or even the fans. Gregg Popovich conjures a unique, winning recipe for his San Antonio Spurs NBA team the way a Michelin-starred chef conceives a fine menu. This article, by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes provides us with a unique look inside Pop’s kitchen and the surprise is, it’s often actually a kitchen (and a dining room, and a wine cellar, and more). Let’s raise a glass to this life being well-lived.
—Raymond Brimble
Michelin restaurants and fabulous wines: Inside the secret team dinners that have built the Spurs' dynasty
Written by Baxter Holmes. Originally published on ESPN.com
"POP WANTS TO talk to you."
The server is speaking to a man named Jeremy Threat —and from the tone in his voice, something is clearly amiss. Threat hustles back to the main dining room of Spataro Restaurant & Bar, an Italian restaurant in Sacramento, California, that has been overrun by the San Antonio Spurs. Players, coaches, management, ownership. All are seated along a handful of long, rectangular tables. The room is pin-drop silent. Some 40 pairs of eyes are trained on Threat, the venue's 29-year-old general manager and wine director.
Seated at the head of one of those tables, beside a window that offers a sweeping view of the California state capitol across the street, is Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
"Explain this," Popovich barks to Threat, brandishing the wine list. Threat is perplexed.
"How did you do this?" Popovich asks. "This list has some of my favorite wines. Did you guys just have this? You've got to explain yourself."
Threat explains himself. He explains how hours earlier, when he had learned that the Spurs might be coming in, he'd recalled a Wine Spectator magazine feature that had listed many of Pop's favorite wines. He explains how he'd called a nearby friend who possesses a deep cellar, how his friend had hauled in about 120 bottles worth roughly $50,000 in total, how Threat had built the list that Pop now holds of 54 wines: the legendary 1990 Chateau d'Yquem; the acclaimed Masseto in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001 vintages; the iconic 1994 and 1995 Ornellaia.
Popovich is incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me. Really?" Then he orders 10 bottles. And when they arrive, the coach transforms into a happy sommelier, bounding about the room, pouring for everyone. "You've got to try this!" At the end of the night, he buys another 10 bottles—to go.
By the next morning, Threat's life has changed forever. He just doesn't know it yet. All he knows is that the corporate office of the restaurant group is on the line. "I think there's an error in your computer," one of the owners tells Threat. "It shows you sold about $15,000 to $20,000 worth of wine at the end of the night, and you're not even open then. What happened?"
A few days later, Threat's star begins to rise. Word spreads. He's interviewed by the local paper. Guests begin pouring in, asking for Popovich's list. And within a couple of years, Threat will go on to work with the acclaimed Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. There, he'll engage with some of the biggest wine connoisseurs on the planet. But he will never forget the impact of Popovich: "He was as knowledgeable, if not more knowledgeable, than the majority of them."
David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. Twenty-two straight playoff appearances. Five championships. Throughout the eras, the Spurs have gathered for long, delicious meals, designed to bond everyone to a common goal. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
IN SUMMER 2013, before an NBA Finals loss to LeBron James and the Miami Heat, Gregg Popovich is asked about his coaching legacy. "What's my legacy?" he quips. "Food and wine. This is just a job."