Popovich says he will not return to
the Spurs this season, has hope of coaching in the future
[February 28, 2025]
By TIM REYNOLDS
Gregg Popovich will not coach this season. He is not ruling out a
comeback in the future.
Popovich met with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, releasing a
statement afterward to make his decision on this season — and hope
for next season — public. The 76-year-old Popovich, the NBA's
all-time coaching wins leader, had a stroke at the team's arena in
San Antonio on Nov. 2 and has been away from the team since.
“I’ve decided not to return to the sidelines this season,” Popovich
said in a statement distributed by the team. “(Acting coach) Mitch
Johnson and his staff have done a wonderful job and the resolve and
professionalism the players have shown, sticking together during a
challenging season, has been outstanding.”
Popovich has been in regular contact with Johnson, some team
officials and has talked with some players at times during his
absence — but he has not been seen at games or been known to be at
any practices since the stroke happened.
“I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can
return to coaching in the future,” Popovich said.
Popovich’s visit to the team came a week after the Spurs announced
that All-Star center Victor Wembanyama — the defensive player of the
year favorite at the time and someone who was a serious candidate to
make the All-NBA team — will not play again this season after deep
vein thrombosis, or a blood clot, was found in his right shoulder.
Wembanyama, who came to San Antonio as the No. 1 pick in the 2023
draft after playing as a pro in France, has called Popovich his
biggest basketball influence.
“Pop isn't just a coach or a boss,” the 21-year-old Wembanyama said
earlier this month. “Pop is a leader.”
The Spurs have not updated Popovich’s rehabilitation process in some
time, other than saying that he is expected to make a full recovery.
The team has not revealed what, if any, issues Popovich has been
dealing with since the stroke.
Popovich agreed to a five-year contract extension with the team in
2023, one that would have him signed to be on the sideline through
the 2027-28 season. His only public comment prior to Thursday about
his health and his future came in mid-December, when he said he and
his family were overwhelmed by “the outpouring of support we’ve
received during this time.”
Popovich mentioned returning to coaching in that statement, but did
not reveal any timetable in a self-deprecating quip. “No one is more
excited to see me return to the bench than the talented individuals
who have been leading my rehabilitation process,” Popovich said in
the December statement. “They’ve quickly learned that I’m less than
coachable.”
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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich during the second half
of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in San
Antonio, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Popovich’s record was 1,388-824 when he had the
stroke, and the Spurs’ record since — 22-30, all with Johnson
serving as the active coach — also goes toward his career numbers by
league rule, since he is still listed as the team’s head coach.
No coach has been with one team for more games than Popovich, who
has led the Spurs to five NBA championships and guided USA
Basketball to an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the
year award three times, Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others.
He’s one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson
(11), Red Auerbach (nine), John Kundla (five) and Riley (five) are
the others.
Popovich has been part of the Spurs for 35 years. He was an
assistant coach from 1988-92, then returned to the club on May 31,
1994, as its executive vice president for basketball operations and
general manager. He fired coach Bob Hill and appointed himself coach
on Dec. 10, 1996.
Popovich has led the Spurs ever since.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to grow in my voice and be empowered
by him in many ways,” Johnson said when the Spurs were in Paris for
a pair of games against the Indiana Pacers last month. “And we are
in contact constantly. He is watching games, still as opinionated as
he’s ever been, and competitive, and what you would think — giving
praise and cussing me out, all at the same time.”
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