Gregg Popovich will not return to the San Antonio Spurs as head coach this season after suffering a mild stroke in November. Last week, Popovich gathered his players to discuss his health and stated that he would not be returning this season.
Popovich said, “I’ve made the choice not to come back to the sidelines this year. Mitch Johnson and his team have done an exceptional job, and the determination and professionalism the players have displayed, sticking together through a tough season, has been remarkable. I will continue to prioritize my health with the hope of returning to coaching in the future.”
While the prognosis says he will recover fully, the future of either this coach or this general will be ambiguous. In a press statement in November, the Spurs said that the stroke happened on November 2 at the Frost Bank Center, their home court. Rehabilitation began nearly two weeks later.
At the age of 76, he is now in his 29th year of stint as the Spurs’ head coach, making him the oldest and longest-serving in the entire NBA. He has the most wins as a coach of all time, has won five NBA championships, has been named NBA Coach of the Year three times and inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023.
He has one of the most illustrious resumes in coaching history, and many are intrigued if he can build another contender alongside talents like Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. The Spurs, meanwhile, are still learning to plod through Wembanyama’s lost season to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Since Pop left, the team has gone 21-30 and is at 24-33, sitting in 13th place in the Western Conference.
During Popovich’s absence, Johnson has filled the interim head coach role and has received solid reviews. At only 38, he may have been positioning himself as Popovich’s possible heir apparent.
