Greg Popovich Has a Quibble With the Term 'World Champions' in the NBA

San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich has quietly evolved from a Stonehenge-like figure of oblique non-entity to a remarkably engaging, opinionated, relatively fascinating and often times hilarious coach who's unafraid to let you know what's on his mind. Perhaps most peculiar about Pop's more outspoken days is his selection of which issues to discuss. Early in the playoffs last year it was the over-the-top player introductions. Now, Popovich has turned his attention to championship terminology.

The San Antonio Express News reports that Popovich said to reporters on Tuesday night that he doesn't "know why they call (the NBA title) the World Championship."

""Did any of us who won a championship play anybody in Spain or Russia or Italy, or any other country, other than the United States?"

It's a trivial quibble, to be sure, but I have to say, I kind of agree with Pop, here. I mean, we have the Olympics, we have the FIBA system, there are legitimate international competitions. So why refer to a title that involves only teams from North America a World Championship? Even with the influx of foreign players, the fact that they constitute such a small minority and even the fact that they are termed 'foreign' in the context of the game itself supports the idea that this isn't a global competition.

So what do you think? Is Pop right and we should just call it the NBA Championship? Or is the NBA big enough to warrant the "World Championship" phrasing?