close
close

Cfic-squadrone

The Pulse of Today, The Insight for Tomorrow

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson offers few details on Gregg Popovich’s health

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson offers few details on Gregg Popovich’s health

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mitch Johnson gave a brief update Thursday on head coach Gregg Popovich’s health.

During the Spurs’ interview session before their game against the Portland Trailblazers, Johnson said Popovich is “doing well” but did not know when the 75-year-old would return to practice.

When asked about the team’s mood in Popovich’s absence, Johnson said, “We feel good about (the team’s) morale.”

Popovich has not been on the sidelines in the team’s last three games due to an undisclosed illness. Details of what happened to Popovich are not known.

Team officials announced last Saturday that he was unavailable to coach the team against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Frost Bank Center.

Johnson, who assumed the head coaching duties, said he was informed about 2 1/2 hours before tipoff that Popovich would not be coaching that night.

The team posted Monday morning on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Popovich did not travel with the team during a two-game road trip to Los Angeles and Houston.

>> What you need to know about interim Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson

Johnson provided the first insight into Popovich’s health status when he spoke to the media Monday night before the Spurs’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Right now, his health is the first priority,” Johnson said Monday night. “We support him on that 100%. I spoke to him last night. He’s in good spirits, he’ll be fine. He’s fine. And we can’t wait to get him back.”

Point guard Chris Paul, who is in his first season with the Spurs, said Monday night that he hasn’t spoken to Popovich and that he doesn’t think any of his teammates have.

Paul added that they are trying to give their coach his place.

“He (Popovich) would be the first person to tell you not to worry about him and to go out and beat up,” Paul said. “Obviously all the guys with our team, the staff, everybody, definitely miss him because he’s Pop. There’s a feeling when he’s in the room that just puts everybody at ease.”

Popovich is in his 29th season, all with the Spurs.

He is no. 1 on the NBA’s all-time list of winningest coaches with 1,391 regular season victories.

Popovich led the Spurs to 170 postseason victories, including five NBA championships.

He was named NBA coach of the year three times.

The Spurs also announced Thursday that guard Devin Vassell, who has yet to play this season, has been cleared to resume basketball activities. The team expects Vassell to make his season debut during its five-game homestand, which begins Thursday night.

The team also said forward Jeremy Sochan had successful surgery on his broken left thumb. His timetable for returning to the floor is not yet known.

Copyright 2024 by KSAT – All rights reserved.