POP BIDS GOODBYE: Popovich steps down as Spurs head coach
‘We thank him for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to our sport.’
Daily Tribune‘We thank him for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to our sport.’
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich formally puts an end to a 29-year coaching career that gave him five titles and a record of 1,422 victories in the NBA.
MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/agence france-presse
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is stepping down after 29 seasons, the team announced Friday, ending a glittering National Basketball Association (NBA) coaching career that included five championships and a record 1,422 wins.
Popovich, 76, a beloved figure across the sport who was sidelined for most of this regular season after suffering a mild stroke last November, will take on a new role as president of basketball operations, the Spurs said.
“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement released by San Antonio.
“I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me,” the Hall of Famer added.
The Spurs confirmed that Mitch Johnson, who filled in as acting head coach after Popovich’s illness this season, would now take over on a full-time basis.
Popovich joined San Antonio as an assistant coach in 1988 and has spent 37 years in the league as a coach and executive. Apart from two seasons as an assistant coach at the Golden State Warriors, the entirety of Popovich’s career has been spent in San Antonio.
Popovich, who was the longest-tenured head coach in any major sports league in the United States prior to Friday’s announcement, also led the United States to a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“Coach Pop’s extraordinary impact on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the game of basketball is profound,” Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said in a statement.
“His accolades and awards don’t do justice to the impact he has had on so many people.”
“He is truly one-of-one as a person, leader and coach. Our entire family, alongside fans from across the globe, are grateful for his remarkable 29-year run as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Popovich’s sustained record of success was “incomparable.”
“There are few people in the basketball community as beloved and revered as Coach Pop,” Silver said in a statement.
“We thank him for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to our sport.”
Speculation about Popovich’s ability to continue in his role as Spurs head coach has swirled since he suffered a mild stroke in November which left him unable to coach the team for the majority of the season.
That sense of uncertainty was heightened last month after he was reportedly hospitalised following a “medical incident” at a restaurant with what was described as a non-life-threatening injury or illness.
Popovich had already announced in February that he would play no part in the remainder of the Spurs’ season, saying he planned to concentrate on his health “with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future.”
