Spurs: Coach Gregg Popovich is recovering from a mild stroke

On By Littum

Gregg Popovich

Gregg Popovich is the oldest coach in NBA history at 75 years old.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich is on the mend from what the San Antonio Spurs described as a mild stroke, though there is no timetable for the NBA’s longest tenured coach to return to the sidelines.

Popovich suffered a stroke Nov. 2 at the arena where the Spurs play, the team said Wednesday, and has already begun a rehabilitation program with the belief that he will make a full recovery. The team did not release any other details, including what after-effects of the stroke – if any – he is dealing with.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for the last three decades. We’ve all encountered or know people who just have a different aura, a different presence about them.

“Obviously, he’s one of those people. When we walk into the building every single day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence, and so there’s a void without him. And we miss him .”

The 75-year-old Popovich is the NBA’s all-time wins leader, having led the Spurs to five championships, plus guided USA Basketball to a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He is in his 29th season as coach of the Spurs.

“He feels good. He feels good. … He’s tough, he’s a fighter and he’s going to work,” Wright said. “We’re all here for him, but he’s fine.”

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has been acting head coach in Popovich’s absence. The Spurs play at home on Wednesday against Washington, and it will be the seventh straight game in which Johnson fills in for Popovich.

“Mitch has been great,” Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said Wednesday before the team announced the details of Popovich’s health. “Even when Pop was here, he always had a voice in our hypocrites and in our locker room. Our philosophies have not changed.”

A stroke occurs when the blood flows until part of the brain is blocked or if a blood vessel in the brain bursts. It deprives the brain of oxygen, which can cause brain damage that can lead to difficulty thinking, talking and walking, or even death. Strokes can lead to difficulty speaking, paralysis or loss of movement in certain muscles, memory loss, and more.

It is unknown if Popovich is dealing with any after effects from the stroke.

Stroke was fourth leading cause of death in the United States in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half a million Americans will have a stroke each year.

The Spurs played the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Nov. 2, and Popovich’s medical episode occurred in the hours before that game. Johnson took over that night’s contest, which the Spurs won, after the team said Popovich was not feeling well.

Johnson and Popovich spoke on Nov. 3, and on Nov. 4, Johnson said that Popovich is “in good spirits … he’s going to be OK. He’s OK.” The Spurs hadn’t released much in the way of details since, prior to Wednesday’s announcement of the stroke.

Wright raved about the way Johnson and the Spurs have bonded and handled the absence of the team’s leader.

“That’s exactly what Coach Pop wanted us to do,” Wright said. “And then it’s up to all of us to play our part, to play our part, to continue to lean on each other, support each other and be there for each other.”

Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA Coach of the Year award three times, with Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others. He is one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5) are the others.

Popovich has been a part of the Spurs for nearly 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988 to 1992, then returned to the club on May 31, 1994 as its executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager. He made the decision to fire coach Bob Hill and appoint himself coach on December 10, 1996.

He has been Spurs’ touchline boss ever since.

“We look forward to the day when we can welcome him back,” Wright said.

Popovich’s 29-year run with the Spurs is a span that has been nearly unmatched in major American pro sports history.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Halas coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. Those three tenures — all completed well over half a century ago — are the only ones that exceed Popovich’s run with the Spurs; his 29-year era in San Antonio to this point matches the tenures of Dallas Cowboys’ Tom Landry and Green Bay Packers’ Curly Lambeau in those jobs.