He is a Gregg Popovich Disciple
In 2001, Borrego got his first coaching gig as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, where he worked alongside current Knicks coach David Fizdale. He spent his off-time coaching at youth clinics in Los Angeles for small amounts of cash. He wouldn’t get his break in the NBA until 2003. For his first stint with the team, Borrego was hired by the San Antonio Spurs as a video assistant. He would later be promoted to assistant coach. Borrego helped the team win two NBA championships before joining Monty Williams’ staff in New Orleans in 2010.
Borrego returned to the Spurs in 2015, where he coached for three more seasons before landing the Hornets job. Borrego praises Popovich as one of his mentors. But during his introductory press conference with the Hornets, Borrego joked that Popovich couldn’t remember his name when he was first hired. So the five-time champion called him “Ray Ramano” from “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
During James Borrego’s first season with the Spurs, Gregg Popovich couldn’t remember his new assistant’s name.
So he called him Ray Romano… ???????????? pic.twitter.com/5kRAGGiEzC
— FOX Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnFSSE) May 11, 2018
He is the latest in an impressive Spurs coaching tree that now includes Mike Budenholzer, Brett Brown, Mike Brown and Monty Williams.
