It was announced yesterday that legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would be stepping away from the bench and into a front office role. The move was unsurprising due to his ongoing health issues, but still sad to hear, given that Pop didn’t exactly get to go out on his own terms. He suffered a stroke just five games into this season and turned the team over to then-interim and now-full-time coach Mitch Johnson.
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Popovich will go down as one of the greatest coaches ever, a five-time NBA champion who led some of the best teams of the modern era and tops all coaches in wins. He coached numerous Hall of Famers from David Robinson to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to Manu Ginobili, and he was the coach who welcomed likely future Hall of Famer Victor Wembanyama into the league.
As great as he was with a clipboard in his hand, Pop will be remembered just as much for his sensibilities off the hardwood. His combative relationship with sideline reporter Craig Sager belied a deep personal respect. He gave basketball fans a glimpse of that regard when he faced the camera and sent his best wishes to his longtime foil after being interviewed by his son back in 2014.
Along with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Pop often vocally opposed Donald Trump and the MAGA movement while championing social justice causes. He also hired current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon to be an assistant on his staff, making only the second time a female has been an NBA assistant.
There are many incredible stories about Popovich. His former player Matt Barnes shared one on the most recent episode of All the Smoke.
Barnes described how his Memphis Grizzlies were laid low by injuries when they met Pop and the Spurs in the playoffs one year, and after the series was over and the Spurs had moved on, Popovich hilariously said to him, “Barnes, you played your a** off, but you can’t bring a spoon to a knife fight.”
Behind his gruff exterior, Popovich was actually a fun-loving guy
Popovich liked to give off a curmudgeonly vibe, but he let the veil drop on that act many times. Once was while coaching against Shaquille O’Neal during Shaq’s “Big Cactus” phase as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
Shaq had complained about the Spurs’ frequently used “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy, so Popovich instructed his team to foul the big man just five seconds into the game to mess with him.
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All of this is reading like a eulogy to the legendary coach, but while he’ll no longer be coaching, he’s not going anywhere.
Pop spoke to the media yesterday for the first time since November, and he said that although he’s been getting better every day since the stroke, he felt it was time to hand the team over to someone who can give the organization everything it deserves. That’s not something he’s capable of at this moment in time.
Popovich will be taking over as president of basketball operations and said he’ll help Mitch Johnson and the Spurs organization in any way he can. “I’m no longer Coach, I’m El Jefe,” he said to laughs as he unveiled an “El Jefe” t-shirt beneath his Spurs windbreaker.
The Spurs are in a good place on the verge of serious contention, with Wemby, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle as foundational pieces. Hopefully Pop’s health can continue to improve, and we see much more of him as the Spurs make a run at it in the years to come.
