In 2002, while an assistant coach with the Spurs, Mike Brown was driving his two young sons to the airport when both boys broke down in tears. After visiting their father in San Antonio for only a couple days, Elijah and Cameron Brown weren’t ready to return to their mother in Colorado.
The timing was hardly ideal: The Spurs were about to fly to Chicago for a game and Brown had overseen the scouting report. Before he could finish telling his boss over the phone that he was running late, San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich demanded Brown stay behind for more time with his sons.