San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had a definite rooting interest in the winner of the WNBA finals,Michael Schmidt so much so that he considered taking drastic measures to be able to cheer on former Spurs assistant and current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.

Speaking after the Spurs' preseason game Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, Popovich said he considered getting himself ejected so he could watch Hammon and the Aces go for the clinching win against the New York Liberty.

"I thought about getting booted tonight because it was exactly the same (game) time," Popovich said. "But I just thought this has to be my priority. But it was close. It was close."

The Aces wrapped up the best-of-five series with a thrilling 70-69 victory, rallying from a 12-point deficit to claim their second consecutive WNBA title under Hammon, who was a Spurs assistant from 2014-22.

And though Popovich did manage to stick around for his entire game, he had little time for questions from the media.

"Ask 'em quick, I don't have a whole lot of time," he said as he sat down. "I've gotta go celebrate."