Ray Romano reveals his ‘Running Point’ character inspired by his NBA coach

Ray Romano has recently opened up about his inspiration for his character in new Running Point season 2 show.

The American comedian and actor, who plays role of a basketball savant-turned-social recluse Norm Stinson, admits that his character is more or less like his real-life NBA coach on the show.

While speaking to PEOPLE at Netflix’s Running Point season 2 premiere in Los Angeles, Ray says, “I got the offer and I had to come in next week.”

Everybody Loves Raymond actor explains, “I usually do a little bit of an actor-like thing and do a little backstory, but I didn’t really have the time.”

“I thought what NBA [should I look to] … Well, first of all, the script was explaining who the guy was,” mentions the 68-year-old.

Ray further says, “And then I like … Who can I emulate? And the guy I thought of was [Gregg] Popovich.”

“I think if I ever was a coach, I would be close to him. I’m close to his age and I just like his demeanor and all that,” points out Ice Age star.

“That was the base,” he says. “And then we let it go from there,” adds Ray.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ray opens up that comedy was a major highlight on the show.

He tells the outlet, “It was fun to do the jokes they wrote, and it was fun that they let us do the jokes that they didn’t write and improvise a little.”

Meanwhile, Ray states that he’s hoping to explore further into his character in the future.

“If there is another season, I’m looking forward to getting into that a little bit more,” he notes.