Coach of the year isn't a good way to describe Gregg Popovich. It's too limiting. It implies he's about one season and one team.

What Popovich has done goes far beyond guiding the Spurs to the best record in the league this season. He has created a template for NBA success. His influence extends so far that his presence is likely to be felt in the NBA Finals even if the Spurs don't make it.

If the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers or Los Angeles Clippers get in they all have key figures with significant ties to Popovich. For the Thunder it's general manager Sam Presti, who got his start in the NBA working in the Spurs' front office. For the Lakers and Clippers it's coaches Mike Brown, who was an assistant, and Vinny Del Negro, who played for Popovich.

Nonplayoff teams that reflect the Popovich effect include the Phoenix Suns (general manager Lance Blanks), the New Jersey Nets (coach Avery Johnson) and the New Orleans Hornets (general manager Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams).

"You go work for him, it's like going to school," said Brown, who was an assistant coach under Popovich. "You learn a lot, not only on the coaching side, but on the front-office side."

Phil Jackson and Pat Riley have more rings, but Popovich has more progenies around the league. It's because Popovich's way is portable. Brown has "tremendous respect" for Jackson and Riley and considers them worthy Hall of Fame enshrinees. He just doesn't think their success is as feasible to duplicate as Popovich's.

Current Lakers coach Mike Brown is one of many Popovich protégés in the NBA. D. Clarke Evans/Getty Images

"When you talk about Phil and Pat, they went to big-market cities where everybody wants to go, there's tremendous amount of money and support of going and getting any guy you want, " Brown said. "And the teams were already, for the most part, halfway decent.

"You look at Pop taking an underdog situation and turning it into a championship situation, similar to what Sam Presti has done in Oklahoma City and similar to what Danny Ferry [another Popovich offspring] was starting to do in Cleveland, and you relish that or want that. Because not all situations are the Lakers, Chicago, Miami, New York."

It makes sense for team-builders to emulate Popovich just as it makes more sense for the typical player to pattern his game after Kevin Love rather than Blake Griffin.

When you hear the alumni talking about Popovich's success, you notice two things: They always call him "Pop" and they never talk about on-court strategy. Even though Popovich is a respected game coach, nothing from his playbook has entered the basketball lexicon the way you hear terms such as "Princeton offense" or "UCLA cut." Besides, it wouldn't make sense to copy a playbook when Popovich himself hasn't adhered to it the past couple years, revamping the Spurs' style and going up-tempo to reflect a changing roster and league.