A day after he wore a cap emblazoned with “BETO” to practice, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich issued an impassioned plea Saturday for voters to side with Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke over Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Tuesday’s midterm election.

Calling O’Rourke a “special guy,” Popovich painted the El Paso native as a unifier who would help return civility to American politics.

“You get so tired of all the lies and the divisiveness and the fearmongering and the race-baiting. It just diminishes all of us,” Popovich said. “It makes all of us feel strange, and when I think of Beto, or I listen to what he says, I feel like what I thought an American is supposed to be. He’s classy. He’s intelligent. He’s civil.”

Popovich cited O’Rourke visiting all 254 Texas counties while campaigning for Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat as proof that he cares about “all the people.”

“He doesn’t deal with PACs (political action committees) and corporations and all that sort of thing; he just does the work,” Popovich said.

A frequent critic of President Donald Trump, Popovich also took some shots at Cruz during his pregame session with the media.

Patty Mills on the Spurs win over the Pelicans, his play, Cunningham’s and the defense pic.twitter.com/p47zaa8xBt — Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) November 4, 2018

“Leaders are courageous,” Popovich said. “Leaders conduct themselves based on their standards, their principles. They have the courage of their convictions. They don’t genuflect. They don’t kiss up for their own personal gain. (O’Rourke) is out for the people. He wants everything to be fair. He wants justice. He wants our democratic institutions to be respected so that we are proud of being Americans. You can’t be proud of the culture wars that have been begun, and the whole world looks at us for leadership, and it’s not there.

“That’s why people like Beto are so important, because he embodies that. He is there for us. He’s not there for his own personal gain and position. When people are so desperate as is his opponent, that scares me. To do what Mr. Cruz has done to try to get elected is very scary. That’s about self. That’s not about the rest of us. And Beto is the exact opposite of that, and that’s why I think he is great.”

‘Glue guy’: Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry recalled forward Dante Cunningham having pretty much the same role in New Orleans that he has now with the Spurs.

Cunningham signed with New Orleans before the 2014-15 season and spent 3½ years with the Pelicans before they traded him in February to Brooklyn.

“He is kind of one of those glue guys,” Gentry said. “He plays hard, does whatever he needs to from the standpoint of helping a team win games. He’s got a toughness about him I’m sure Pop really appreciates.”

Saying it was a “bittersweet” experience facing his old team, Cunningham started his fourth straight game Saturday at power forward.

“I love it,” he said of his role with the Spurs. “It’s right up my alley — go out, guard the best guy on the court, do the dirty work, help make life easier for everyone else.”

Undrafted role model: Jonathon Simmons was more than just a teammate to Bryn Forbes during their one season together with the Spurs.

“He absolutely was an inspiration to me,” Forbes said.

With the Spurs set to play Simmons and the Orlando Magic on Sunday, Forbes reflected on how as an undrafted rookie in 2016-17 he looked up to Simmons, who made the team the year before as an undrafted rookie.

“His story is better than mine,” said Forbes, now the Spurs’ starting point guard. “Jon was a worker. Every day he came in to work. He was self-made, really. No one really helped him. He came from having to pay to try out with the G League to (becoming) a pro, a bonafide NBA player.”

Simmons, who is questionable for Sunday’s game with a wrist injury, left the Spurs in summer 2017 to sign a three-year, $20 million deal with the Magic.

In July, the Spurs re-signed Forbes to a two-year, $6 million pact. His first deal with the club wasn’t guaranteed.

“I respect (Simmons’ journey) because I know what I had to go through, how much work, how many ups and downs, not knowing what is coming next,” Forbes said. “It’s a little different when you are in that position. Not having a guaranteed contract for two years was tough, because for two years you don’t know, ‘Am I going to stay or what?’

“It’s all up in the air for two years and it’s a little bit stressful. Other guys going through it, I feel for them. Because it’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I really respect what he did.”

torsborn@express-news.net

Twitter: @tom_orsborn