Legendary former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went into San Antonio’s locker room immediately after their Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to deliver some choice words about their performance, according to point guard De’Aaron Fox.Fox relayed the story on NBC’s postgame show Sunday after Tracy McGrady asked if Popovich had ever said “we need some nasty” to this group, invoking one of the former coach’s most famous viral clips.“Pop’s been around throughout the course of the season, but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, ‘Nah, that’s BS, that’s not how we play basketball,'” Fox said after San Antonio’s 103-82 Game 4 win to even the series. “That was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.”Fox said the entire team and coaching staff listened, as well as general manager Brian Wright.“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that,” Fox told NBC. “Trainers, everybody’s in there. We close the doors, we don’t let anybody know what’s going on in here. … We open that door, we see Pop come in, and it’s like, ‘Awwww.'”The 77-year-old Popovich, who officially retired from coaching last summer after suffering a stroke at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, has been a key figure behind the scenes all season, as The Athletic reported. The man unofficially known as El Jefe is often seen consulting with players after practices, though he has become more involved throughout this postseason run.“He gives feedback and talks to us regularly throughout our series, throughout our games,” Victor Wembanyama said earlier in the playoffs. “As always, when he speaks, everybody listens.”Current head coach Mitch Johnson took over on an interim basis last season before landing the job permanently last summer. Johnson has been a member of the Spurs’ organization since 2016 and was one of Popovich’s assistants from 2019 to 2024.