The Indiana Pacers selected Leonard with the 15th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft and then traded him to the San Antonio Spurs later that night. The Spurs and their then-head coach Gregg Popovich had seen something special in Leonard that others seemingly hadn't, and they certainly were on the money.

Gregg Popovich's career as the Spurs' head coach has ended after 29 seasons. Here's his historic coaching career by the numbers.

The post garnered widespread responses from the NBA community, including fans, former and current players. Among them was LeBron James, a longtime admirer of Popovich, who shared the tribute on his Instagram story, accompanied by hand raise and heart emojis.