Spurs' Popovich rips media, praises LeBron

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is tired of the media's hot takes on LeBron James, so he let them hear about it while heaping praise on the superstar ahead of Wednesday's Spurs-Cleveland Cavaliers game.

"I always thought that you guys always had something to say," Popovich said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "If LeBron went right, he should have gone left. Or if he shot it, he should have passed it. If he passed it, he should have shot it. I always thought that was all baloney."

Popovich has been in the NBA since the 1980s. He entered the league as an assistant before landing the Spurs' head coaching job in 1996, a position he's held since.

The 65-year-old has coached legends and watched many of them - including James in the Finals on three separate occasions. Popovich believes James' basketball IQ is on par with the all-time greats.

"He's a great player. He's not just athletic, he's incisive," Popovich said. "He understands the game the way Magic (Johnson), the way Larry (Bird) did, the way (Tim) Duncan does. That kind of thing.

"So, he knows a whole more about what he's doing and what he has been doing than all of you. He's a character guy, he's good people. He's got a great heart. So, I'm just happy for him whether he went to Timbuktu. He should do what's best for him, for his family and everybody else can go swim in the lake, so to speak. You all do what you what to do, LeBron should be able to do what he wants to do."

Popovich's comments stem from the media asking the coach about his opinion on James' return to Cleveland after a four-year run with the Miami Heat.

James' Cavaliers lost to the Spurs in the 2007 Finals. With the Heat, James won his second of two titles by helping Miami drop San Antonio in 2013 before the Spurs returned the favor in 2014.

Both teams haven't played their best basketball to start the season, although the Spurs' 91.8 points allowed per game ranks third in the NBA.

James enters Wednesday's contest averaging 27.1 points, which trails only the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant for the top mark in the NBA.