San Antonio Spurs Corridor of Fame coach Gregg Popovich isn’t anticipated to return to the bench this season, and his long-term standing stays unclear as he recovers from a stroke suffered in November, league sources instructed ESPN’s Shams Charania on Saturday.
San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich Suffered A “Gentle Stroke” On Nov. 2 Earlier than Minnesota Timberwolves Matchup
On Nov. 2, Popovich suffered what the Spurs known as a “delicate stroke” forward of a matchup in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves. San Antonio moved 38-year-old assistant Mitch Johnson into the top teaching function on an interim foundation. Johnson has coached a younger San Antonio squad to a 21-27 document.
Popovich is the NBA’s winningest coach with 1,390 regular-season victories and one other 170 within the postseason to go together with 5 championships. The Indiana native can be a three-time NBA Coach of the Yr (2003, 2012, 2014) and four-time NBA All-Star Recreation head coach (2005, 2011, 2013, 2016).
San Antonio Spurs’ Corridor of Fame coach Gregg Popovich isn’t anticipated to return this season, and his future is unsure as he recovers from a gentle stroke suffered in November, league sources inform ESPN. pic.twitter.com/EekHlDa8NI
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 23, 2025
This information comes simply days after the Spurs introduced plans Thursday to close down franchise celebrity Victor Wembanyama after he was identified with deep vein thrombosis in his proper shoulder. The situation is a type of blood clot that’s usually handled with blood-thinning treatment.
Popovich and Wembanyama have been in shut contact the previous few days, sources instructed Charania. The coach has been speaking and “offering steerage within the wake of Wembanyama’s prognosis,” in response to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“It’s wild to consider the circumstances and the conditions that we’ve been by way of as a workforce this yr,” Spurs level guard Chris Paul stated after Wembanyama was dominated out for the season. “However I feel you guys know when conditions occur in your loved ones that someway, someway brings you nearer.”
Gregg Popovich Is The Oldest Coach In NBA Historical past
Popovich, who has coached the Spurs for the reason that 1996-97 season, turned 76 in January and is the oldest coach in NBA historical past. In 2020, he handed the earlier document held by Hubie Brown, who was 71 when he coached his remaining recreation with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Spurs anticipated Popovich to return in some unspecified time in the future this season after they promoted Johnson to go coach. Popovich launched a press release in December thanking the group, the Spurs group, and mates for his or her outpouring of assist.
“Nobody is extra excited to see me return to the bench than the gifted people who’ve been main my rehabilitation course of,” Popovich stated within the assertion. “They’ve rapidly discovered that I’m lower than coachable.”
In July 2023, Popovich agreed to a brand new five-year contract with the workforce, valued at greater than $80 million. Popovich, who has a mean annual wage of $17 million, is the second-highest-paid NBA coach behind Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr ($17.5 million).
Spurs’ Legendary Coach Has Stored In Contact With Johnson
Popovich, who additionally serves because the workforce’s president, has remained in touch with Johnson all through his absence, in addition to with Spurs gamers, by offering assist and enter on recreation plans. Johnson revealed in January that Popovich is “giving reward and cussing me out all on the identical time.”
“It’s not one particular person to fill Pop’s footwear on this second. It’s a village,” normal supervisor Brian Wright stated 11 days after Popovich’s stroke. “We’ve all bonded collectively. We’re all enjoying our roles in that half, and we’ll proceed to do this. It’s what he would need.”
Spurs CEO RC Buford, Popovich’s closest good friend and the architect of a lot of the franchise’s title groups, stated in January that the coach was “attacking his rehab.”
“The identical resilience he’s proven over the course of our profession as a coach, he’s approaching his return in his rehab in an extremely distinctive method,” Buford stated. “The relationships he’s had with former gamers and the care they’re sharing with him is wonderful, and his enchancment continues.”
The 2024-25 NBA season is Popovich’s twenty ninth season teaching the Spurs.
