“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.”
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.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP