NBA player DeMar DeRozan speaks to reporters at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Shutterstock / Leonard Zhukovsky

A clip of former San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan sharing a never-before-told story about how Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich comforted him after his father’s death has gone viral on social media.

DeRozan’s comments came during a Thursday episode of the 25/10 Show podcast hosted by former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson and two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean “Shady” McCoy.

YouTube video

About an hour into the show, McCoy asked DeRozan, that episode’s special guest, what it was like being coached by the legendary Popovich. DeRozan, who now plays for the Chicago Bulls, praised Popovich, adding he still receives text messages from his former coach.

“My pops had passed when I was playing in San Antonio,” DeRozan said. “We were stuck in Charlotte, and I had called the GM like, ‘Yo bro, I’m about to fly home tonight. I’m about to try to get a plane out of here. I got to get home. My pops just passed.’ I called the GM. I didn’t want nobody to know.”

About 90 seconds after DeRozan made that phone call, Popovich knocked on his door, the six-time NBA All-Star recalled.

“Bro, Pop sat in that room with me and cried with me for about two hours,” DeRozan said. “You know what I mean? He’s like, ‘I’m not leaving until you leave.'”

DeRozan added that the crazy part is that Popovich would likely be mad about him telling that story.

“He don’t want credit, bro. He never want credit,” DeRozan explained.

The clip of DeRozan’s story has amassed nearly 60,000 likes and 500 comments since being posted Thursday on the 25/10 Show’s Instagram account.

“That’s what’s missing from the ppl of today,” commented Instagram user @bookie_demon. “Just being able to resonate with a situation and empathize. No judgment. POP is a standup guy.”

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This article appears in May 1-14, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...