Team USA men’s basketball coach Gregg Popovich got into a testy exchange with a reporter after the U.S. lost to Australia in a tune-up game before the Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. lost its second straight game in these tune-up exhibitions. On Saturday, it was to Nigeria and on Monday, it was to the Boomers. Popovich appeared to be upset with some of the questioning from a reporter about the team’s performance, suggesting the team should be dominating its opponents.
While it wasn’t clear what was said during the back and forth, Popovich made clear he was upset. “Are you gonna let me finish my statement or not? So you’ll be quiet now while I talk. And then I’ll listen to you,” Popovich said.
“When you make statements about in the past, just blowing out these other teams … No. 1 you give no respect to the other teams. I talked to you last time about the same thing. We’ve had very close games against four or five countries in all these tournaments. So, the good teams do not get blown out.
