Spurs' Gregg Popovich gets wine question from Grant Hill during in-game interview

Tom Gatto

Spurs' Gregg Popovich gets wine question from Grant Hill during in-game interview image

TNT analyst/Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill got through his in-game interview with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Thursday night unscathed because he asked about wine instead of basketball.

Hill, saying he didn't know what to ask, opened the floor to Pop rather than face a withering look or response to a hoops question. Popovich went along and kept the segment light.

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"Let's see . . . I'll stay away from politics for a change," Popovich told Hill, who was working remotely. "Let's talk about defense. Ask me something about defense."

Hill declined the coach's offer but instead asked for an opinion on what type of wine best complements a steak. Popovich is a wine connoisseur.

Popovich responded with a complaint about Hill being able to go to dinner when he has to go home because of NBA COVID-19 protocols. (Hill said he would order delivery.) He did add that an expensive Australian wine would make a nice pairing.

"We've got a game here, geez Louise," Popovich joked as he ended the interview.

The reporters who have to speak with Popovich after the game won't get the same treatment, not after the Spurs lost to the Rockets 109-105.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.