Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich not expected to return this season
It looks like Gregg Popovich will not return to coach the Spurs this season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday night that 76-year-old Popovich, 76, who is still recovering from a mild stroke he suffered in November, is expected to miss the rest of the season and that his future on the sidelines is “uncertain.”
Popovich — who has been the Spurs’ head coach since midway through the 1996-97 season — had the stroke in the Frost Bank Center, the Spurs’ home arena, on Nov. 2 shortly before his team’s game against the Timberwolves.
“At this point, a timeline for his return to the sidelines has not been determined,” the Spurs said in a statement in November. “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 regular-season victories, along with 170 postseason wins which have brought San Antonio five championships.
Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has been at the helm as interim coach of the team in Popovich’s absence.
Johnson is 21-27 since taking over Popovich’s duties last fall, with the Spurs’ organization having plans for Popovich to eventually return.
Popovich has also remained in contact with Johnson, mentoring the interim head coach amid his absence.
RC Buford, who is the Spurs CEO and a close confidant of Popovich’s during their long run together, said in January the coach was “attacking his rehab.”
“The same resilience he’s shown over the course of our career as a coach, he’s approaching his return in his rehab in an incredibly unique way,” Buford said. “The relationships he’s had with former players and the care they’re sharing with him is amazing, and his improvement continues.”
The Popovich announcement comes just days after the Spurs announced their plans to shut down superstar Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of the season after he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
