Spurs coach Gregg Popovich out indefinitely with health issue, Mitch Johnson to coach in interim
Gregg Popovich, the 75-year-old coach of the San Antonio Spurs who sat out his team’s win Saturday night due to an undisclosed health condition, now is not joining the team on its two-game road trip to Los Angeles and Houston, the team announced.
Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has moved into the head coach’s seat in the interim (which could potentially be longer than just these upcoming two games). Johnson played down the seriousness of the situation before the Minnesota game, via Tom Osborn at the Express-News.
“He’s not feeling well. This has happened before. I think everybody’s just always got to be ready for the next man up. We’ve had it with injuries and sometimes people get sick or don’t feel well or things come up in life. He’s just not feeling well.”
Under Johnson, the Spurs beat the Timberwolves to improve to 3-3 on the young season.
Popovich is a coaching legend and Hall of Famer. He has helmed the Spurs for 29 years, is a five-time NBA champion and coach of the USA’s gold medal team at the Tokyo Olympics, and is the NBA’s career leader in coaching wins with 1,390 (plus another 170 in the playoffs). His coaching tree casts a massive shadow across the NBA, including Steve Kerr (Warriors), Mike Budenholzer (Suns), Ime Udoka (Rockets), Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies), Mike Brown (Suns), and many others have learned from the master.
Speedy Recovery to Pop, The Spurs are gonna struggle quite a bit after this news, Pop is the guy who makes the Spurs players understand what it takes to win
Gregg Popovich recovering from Nov. 2 stroke, Spurs say
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SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is continuing to recover after he suffered what the team called a "mild stroke" Nov. 2.
Popovich has missed the past six games with what the team had previously referred to as an undisclosed medical episode.
The Spurs provided a diagnosis and update on Popovich's status Wednesday, saying the coach suffered the stroke at the team's arena.
"Popovich, who has already started a rehabilitation program, is expected to make a full recovery," the Spurs said in a statement. "At this point, a timeline for his return to the sidelines has not been determined. During this time, the organization is grateful to the extended community for providing privacy and space to the Popovich family."
Popovich is the NBA's winningest head coach with 1,390 victories and another 170 postseason wins with five NBA titles. He is in his 29th season, all with San Antonio.
Popovich, 75, is the oldest coach in NBA history. In 2020, he passed the previous mark, held by Hubie Brown (71 years old) in his final game as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mitch Johnson, 37, has served as the Spurs' acting head coach throughout Popovich's absence. Johnson will coach the Spurs for the foreseeable future, a source told ESPN's Shams Charania.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 72973 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 8:38 am Post subject:
I was just about to post Pop's stoke announcement. LINK Gregg is 75. I wonder if he'll come back this season or at all. Victor Wembanyama was fortunate to have him as the coach to start his career with. He dropped a 50 burger last night. I think ROY is a no-brainer. Mitch Johnson has been with Pop for 5 years. I'm sure some of Pop's coaching strategies have been assimilated.
GET WELL POP.❤️
Watching FirstTake this morning SAS is high as a Georgia pine. The camera caught him struggling to keep his eyes open a couple of times. I think he did a Shay Shay interview. That's real Conjac they drink while filming the show. A few guests have gotten toasted while filming the segments. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be
because we destroyed ourselves.
I would be legit surprised if he returned at his age and he may want to return but either his health will prevent him or the Spurs will use this to get out of his contract and move to the future.
Joined: 27 May 2010 Posts: 55589 Location: LA to the Bay
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2024 5:58 pm Post subject:
Basketball Fan wrote:
I would be legit surprised if he returned at his age and he may want to return but either his health will prevent him or the Spurs will use this to get out of his contract and move to the future.
Well don't forget he's not just the head coach he's also the president. So the "they" that would be making this decision would be him lol. I could see him stepping down from being the coach and just going into the front office. I could definitely see that happening, which would be sad for me in a way but it is the way of things.
I would be legit surprised if he returned at his age and he may want to return but either his health will prevent him or the Spurs will use this to get out of his contract and move to the future.
Well don't forget he's not just the head coach he's also the president. So the "they" that would be making this decision would be him lol. I could see him stepping down from being the coach and just going into the front office. I could definitely see that happening, which would be sad for me in a way but it is the way of things.
I can't imagine him going away quietly in that case.
No timeline for return as Gregg Popovich continues to work way back from stroke
As the Spurs move past the midway point of the season, there is no timeline for legendary coach Gregg Popovich’s return to the bench.
Popovich has been out since he suffered a mild stroke before a Nov 2 game, and there remains no timetable for him to return to the sidelines, the Spurs’ CEO RC Buford told Joe Varden of The Athletic.
“His improvement continues to get better, (but) I don’t know that we have any way to judge the clock,” Buford said in Paris Wednesday, where San Antonio will play the Indiana Pacers twice this week. “Predicting what’s to come is just a function of where Pop’s rehab goes.”
Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson and multiple players — such as Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama — have said they have been in regular contact with Popovich throughout his recovery process.
“I’ve seen him quite a bit,” Johnson said. “So those conversations are typical in terms of the things we talked about regarding our team trying to get better, coaching backwards, what happened in the last game or what are we coming out of? And then, you know, obviously looking ahead and what we’re walking into. So with these unique circumstances that’s out there, especially for people that are not around day to day, to understand, but our interactions and conversations in that regard have not changed really that much.”
Popovich made clear in a statement he released last month that he wants to return to the bench. “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 with some self-deprecating humor in that statement.
Popovich is a Hall of Famer, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, a five-time NBA champion and he coached Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
At 19-22, the Spurs sit 12th in the West, two games out of the final play-in spot in the conference. This is despite a breakout season from Wembanyama, where he is averaging 24.4 points and 10.8 rebounds a game while being the clear frontrunner to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Sources: Popovich not expected to return to Spurs this season
San Antonio Spurs' Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season, and his future is uncertain as he recovers from a mild stroke suffered in November, league sources told ESPN on Saturday.
Popovich, 76, is the NBA career wins leader who has guided the Spurs to five championships and coached USA Basketball to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He had the stroke at the team's arena in San Antonio on Nov. 2, getting tended to by emergency personnel who were at the arena for the Spurs' game that night. The Spurs said at the time that Popovich was expected to make a full recovery.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90892 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 3:31 pm Post subject:
Wish him well. _________________ Hoy por ellos, mañana por nosotros
“You see, in this world, there is one awful thing, and that is that everyone has his reasons“
Source: Spurs' Gregg Popovich home from hospital after incident
SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was taken to a hospital after a medical incident at a restaurant on Tuesday night but is now home and doing fine, a source told ESPN's Shams Charania on Friday.
The 76-year-old Popovich, who is the oldest coach in NBA history, had a mild stroke in November and missed the rest of the season.
According to TMZ, which first reported the medical incident, Popovich was placed onto a stretcher and taken to a hospital with what officials said was a non-life-threatening injury or illness. Sources told TMZ that Popovich was alert when he entered the ambulance.
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On Nov. 2, Popovich suffered what the team called a "mild stroke" ahead of a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hall of Famer, who has coached the Spurs since the 1996-97 season, is the NBA's winningest coach with 1,412 regular-season victories and another 170 in the postseason to go with five championships.
He agreed to a five-year contract extension with the team in 2023.
Assistant coach Mitch Johnson took over on an interim basis to lead San Antonio to a record of 31-45 under his watch.
Franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, or a blood clot, in his right shoulder shortly after the NBA All-Star break and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. Newly added guard De'Aaron Fox, who joined the Spurs in February through a trade, missed the final 18 games due to a left pinkie injury that required surgery.
Before Popovich's latest health incident, the Spurs had already faced an uncertain future as to whether the coach would return for the 2025 and '26 seasons. Johnson said the Spurs have already put together an offseason plan that will be executed collectively, starting later this spring, by the staff in Popovich's absence.
"I think I haven't had time to deal with it yet," Johnson said after the season finale on Apr. 13. "I understand it's a fair question and I think I will, hopefully like everybody that's gone through this, take some time away, catch my breath and spend some time with family.
"This organization is still prioritizing Pop's health. In time, he will do what he needs to do and make decisions. That will go through this organization on very many levels. We really put together that plan as a group. Obviously, my role has changed in nine years. What I'm doing this spring won't be what I did eight years ago, but the player development has been at the forefront since I've been here."
The organization has steadfastly maintained internally that it would let Popovich decide whether he wants to return for a 30th season in San Antonio. Sources who have been in contact with Popovich since his stroke have said the coach has expressed to them an intention to return to the bench next season to lead the Spurs.
"I trust the organization," Wembanyama said after the season finale. "I trust Pop to [do] all he can to come back and get his energy back. And I also trust Mitch to grow into that role. I think we are in good hands supporting each other all throughout the organization. I'm ready for anything, and I know the organization will [make] the good decisions."
Popovich had an emotional meeting with Spurs players on Feb. 27, and he issued a statement at that time that he officially wouldn't be returning this season but hopes to return in the future.
"I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future," his statement said.
Popovich joins Don Nelson and Pat Riley as one of just three coaches to win the NBA Coach of the Year on three occasions. He is also one of five coaches to have won at least five NBA championships along with Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (nine), John Kundla (five) and Riley (five).
Joined: 27 May 2010 Posts: 55589 Location: LA to the Bay
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 7:49 am Post subject:
Shams wrote:
BREAKING: Gregg Popovich will no longer be Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs and is transitioning full-time to Team President, sources told ESPN. The iconic Popovich is a Basketball Hall of Famer, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, and led the Spurs to five championships.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 72973 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Sat May 03, 2025 11:58 am Post subject:
Pop's stepping down is not a surprise to me. I've been saying for a while I thought he might retire. Coaching is a stressful vocation. My thinking was that if the Spurs landed Cooper Flagg, he might return. He's not leaving the game. He'll still be hands on with the organization. I had my fingers crossed for Becky Hammon to be the first NBA female head coach. The Spurs usually promote from within.
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The San Antonio Spurs have promoted Mitch Johnson to head coach, taking over from Gregg Popovich, who is transitioning to a front office role. While other names like Michael Malone, Taylor Jenkins, and Becky Hammon were considered, Mitch Johnson was ultimately chosen by the Spurs organization. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be
because we destroyed ourselves.
Not the way you want to see a rival go out. Had a few "issues" with him, but he was at the top of his craft.
Yeah I wanted to see him develop Wemby.
I was hoping they landed Cooper Flagg, and Pop would develop him. Johnson's been with the Spurs for 9 years. He must have learned something being with Pop that long. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be
because we destroyed ourselves.
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