Some speculate that a return to coaching will prove difficult for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

On November 14, 2024By Littum

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs have officially announced that head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2 at Frost Bank Center. According to the organization, Coach Pop has begun a rehabilitation program and is expected to make a full recovery. However, the timeline for his return to coaching duties remains uncertain.

Some believe Popovich may have coached his last NBA game. He is 75 years old and a stroke, mild or otherwise, is still a very, very serious medical situation. The San Antonio Express-News says the organization is under the assumption that Mitch Johnson will be the team’s head coach until at least the new year.

Spurs General Manager Brian Wright spoke to the media Wednesday before the team took the floor against the Washington Wizards.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Pop and his family. It’s a difficult time for everyone,” Wright said. “When we walk into the building every day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence, and then not having him, you know, there’s definitely a void and we miss him. At the same time, I’m extremely proud of the team, where the team is the players, the staff and everyone that sticks together through a tough time, and that’s exactly what Coach Pop wanted us to do, and so you know, it’s up to all of us to play our part that play our part, to continue to lean on each other, support each other and be there for each other and we look forward to the day when we can welcome him back, but, you know, it takes a village and we’re all committed to it, but most importantly above all, we’re committed to making sure he has everything he needs and giving him the time and space to continue his recovery, and we’ll look forward to having him back.”

When asked why the Spurs decided to release more information than they had about Popovich’s medical condition now, Wright said the team felt it was best to have time to digest the situation.

“In these situations, it’s important to have time to understand exactly what’s going on, and over time you’re able to speak transparently to things and give an update on where we are, so we had time to take information, it was the right time to share with everyone about where we are and what is going on, and time allowed.”

Wright would not comment on why the Spurs decided to hand the coaching duties to interim coach Mitch Johnson, rather than someone like Brett Brown, who has more major league head coaching experience, although he said the entire coaching staff has done a good job.

“I think Mitch has done that and the whole staff has done a phenomenal job of continuing to move forward, continuing to execute on Pop’s vision for the team and how we want to play and we’re playing well in these moments and so Brett , he has great corporate knowledge of what we do, why we do it, and how we do it, and the standards that we have to work to, and he’s done a great job of supporting and helping Mitch and the staff in that All in all, you’ve done a fantastic job job of trying to continue to do what Pop has asked this team to do from the start of the season to now.”

Wright also wouldn’t comment on the medical part of the situation, but said the team was grateful to everyone involved in the medical emergency that helped coach Popovich, who was a part of it.

At least one doctor, who specializes in stroke and the diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment of conditions affecting the brain, spine and head and neck regions, believes any return to coaching will prove a complicated road for Popovich.

Doctor Eduardo Murias, Ph.D. NRXI previously wrote about the situation with Spanish sports site @PlanetaNBA offering opinions he derived from the limited information the Spurs released earlier today.

“A stroke is a sudden neurological deficit, meaning you suddenly can’t move an arm, can’t move a leg or can’t speak. It means part of the brain stops working, so you stop with doing certain things. It’s not like the whole brain stops working, but rather just part of the brain. So when this happens, there are two possible etiologies.” explains Murias.

“One is a brain bleed in part of the brain that causes that area to stop working, and another is ischemic, where an artery becomes blocked and cuts off the blood supply to an area, causing it to stop functioning to function.”

Murias says the consequences of whether it’s ischemic or hemorrhagic vary widely and will determine the treatment approach and outlook.

“The hemorrhagic stroke due to cerebral hemorrhage has a mortality rate of over 25% or 30%, and more than half of the survivors often end up with some form of addiction. Therefore, if this is what we call a cerebral hemorrhage or what is commonly referred to as a cerebral hemorrhage, which is a hemorrhagic stroke, then the chances of returning to normal function, returning to its normal state are quite complicated or at least very unlikely for him to train again, especially if it’s on the left side, and it affects his language, both comprehension and speech.”

Doctor Murias believes that because the official press release from the team indicates a rehabilitation process, this points to the fact that the stroke, although mild, was not the result of a blood clot-ischemic or ‘mini-stroke’.

“That most likely means they’ll need speech therapy or functional rehab work. If it’s an ischemic stroke, there’s a better chance of recovery. And if he still wants to keep exercising, he might be able to. In an emergency neurological event, like a stroke, the chances of a person returning to their life, especially as an NBA coach, are very, very small. It’s complicated because we’re talking about everything that involves stress and things like that.”

The doctor adds that it would be difficult for any doctor to recommend that he return to a state where he could become stressed or nervous again. The condition requires treatment, and sometimes the treatment gets worse when you are stressed or under a lot of pressure, says the specialist.

Dr. Murias believes doctors treating Popovich will likely recommend rest, especially since a stroke affecting the brain is much worse than a stroke affecting the heart.

While Brian Wright and the Spurs have decided not to discuss further medical details, he and others say the organization values Popovich tremendously and that he is in their prayers. “I don’t know of another person who means so much to another organization, sports or non-sports, and he’s more than a coach,” Wright said.

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