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Before the season opener against the Knicks tipped off earlier this week, Gregg Popovich entered that game tied with Jerry Sloan as the longest-tenured head coach with one team in league history.

That was Wednesday. Today, as the Spurs prepare to take on Washington Wizards Saturday evening, Popovich enters into his second game of his 24th season coaching the Spurs, giving him sole ownership of an NBA record that may never be broken.

Since Popovich took over as head coach on Dec. 10, 1996, the NBA’s other teams have employed a total of 270 coaches. Each of the 29 other teams in the league has had at least three coaches, and some have had as many as 14 during the Popovich era.

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“With the way it goes nowadays, it feels like there is a new coach every other year,” Spurs guard Derrick White said. “(Popovich’s record) is very impressive. He’s been here forever, and that is well deserved, obviously. But that’s crazy, though.”

Popovich, 70, reportedly negotiated a three-year deal with the Spurs this summer that allowed him to remain the highest-paid coach in the NBA.

He has won five championships with the Spurs and has led the team to the playoffs a record-tying 22 consecutive seasons. He’s also the NBA’s all-time leader in career wins with 1,415 (regular season and playoffs combined).

As the longest-tenured active coach in North American pro sports, the Air Force Academy graduate is one of four coaches in league history to coach past his 70th birthday. The others are Bill Bertka, Hubie Brown and Larry Brown.

Making Popovich’s long tenure even more impressive is that he overcame the death of his wife, Erin, in April 2018. The couple had been married for four decades.

“Everybody’s life has some ups and downs, hurdles, whatever you want to call it, whether it’s at home or in the work place,” Popovich said at the start of training camp. “That’s the measure of who you are, I think. You’ve got to look at the big picture and understand you’re not really all that. You’re just a simple guy or gal, and you carry on and try to do the best you can for yourself, your family, for other people, for your friends. It’s what each of us tries to do to the best of our ability.

“That’s where I’m at. I’ve got a great support group. When I really think about it, I always talk to my players about this loss or that loss, and if it’s the worst thing that happens to you, you’ve got a pretty easy life. This is nothing compared to what each of us might have to deal with in our personal lives. Having friends and family help us all get through those situations. I’ve been fortunate to have that. No complaints, no excuses. Just move on.”