Following a series of health concerns, Gregg Popovich is stepping down from his role as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. The Hall of Famer will move to a full-time position as the team’s president of basketball operations, staying with the organization where he’s spent the last 29 years of his career. Mitch Johnson, who took over after the team in November in place of the five-time NBA champion, will stay on as head coach in a long-term role.
His name is synonymous with consistency and greatness. He turned the Spurs into a generational powerhouse that won championships in three different decades. He was crucial in developing some of the greatest basketball players of this century. Though he might not be going out on his terms, Popovich is leaving a lasting legacy in basketball that will be remembered for years to come.
Throughout his 29 years leading the San Antonio Spurs, Pop won championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. He coached numerous Hall of Famers, including David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard. With the legendary coach at the helm, San Antonio was a consistent contender, beating teams from Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers to the LeBron James-led Heat.
Popovich led the Spurs to a record 22 consecutive playoff appearances, winning at least 50 games in 18 straight seasons. He is the NBA’s all-time winningest head coach with 1,422 victories under his belt, and he is tied for the most Coach of the Year awards. He is third in all-time playoff wins behind only Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, and is one of five coaches ever to win five championships.
“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in the team statement. “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.”
He wasn’t flashy or always the most pleasant guy to be around, but Popovich was a symbol of what it meant to be great in a league where winning is extremely hard to come by. Even in a small market in San Antonio, he consistently found ways to attract and develop talent, all of whom bought into his style and philosophy. The Hall of Famer ends his career on the sidelines as the oldest and longest tenured head coach in the league today.
Immediately after the news broke that Popovich would no longer be coaching San Antonio, it was announced that Johnson would take over as head coach. He rose to the position of interim head coach after Popovich suffered from a minor stroke in early November and led the team to a 34-48 record in this past season.
Johnson has been with the team since 2019, and despite no previous head coaching experience, was Popovich’s pick to succeed him. He will now be the third-youngest coach in the league, behind only Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Utah’s Will Handy.
“I am truly grateful and honored to receive this incredible opportunity,” Johnson said. “I am thankful for Coach Pop, RC, Brian and Peter trusting me to carry on our culture and I promise to give this responsibility everything I have to make Spurs fans proud.”
Despite San Antonio missing the playoffs with Johnson leading the team for a majority of the year, they aren’t expected to have the same fate in the near future. Victor Wembanyama missed a chunk of the season due to a blood clot, but is expected to make a full recovery. They traded for De’Aaron Fox at the deadline, but he also missed time after having finger surgery.
Besides those two returning, San Antonio is expected to bring back their other young core of Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Rookie of the Year winner Stephon Castle. Along with them, Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes remain on the team as veterans with much-needed postseason experience. It was a year with unpredictable and unprecedented circumstances for the Spurs, but heading into next season, they look poised to be back to their old, winning ways.
For one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport, it certainly wasn’t the ending to his career that Popovich had wanted or expected. He had signed a five-year contract extension with San Antonio in 2023, but after the health concerns, he will now transition into a role in the front office.
“Gregg Popovich’s sustained success as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs is incomparable,” Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement posted following the news. “Coach Pop has developed generations of players and coaches and has been a driving force behind the global growth of basketball. There are few people in the basketball community as beloved and revered as Coach Pop.”
Coaching players from Robinson to Duncan, to Leonard to Wembanyama, Popovich has been the lasting legacy of a San Antonio team that has commanded respect from every corner of the NBA.
He was the embodiment of consistency, teamwork, and dedication to success, as in his three decades, he turned San Antonio into a globally recognized franchise. While in some respects it will be the end of an era for the Spurs, the mark he left on the team is likely to remain for a long time to come.
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