Spurs coach Gregg Popovich suffered mild stroke, expected to make full recovery
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke this month, and his absence remains indefinite, the team announced Wednesday.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
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Popovich, a five-time champion head coach with the Spurs who is also the team’s president, suffered the stroke on Nov. 2 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center. He did not coach in that night’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he missed each of the next five games as well.
The Spurs, who had not previously specified Popovich’s health issue, said Wednesday that the 75-year-old has started a rehabilitation program.
“At this point, a timeline for his return to the sidelines has not been determined,” the Spurs said in a statement. “During this time, the organization is grateful to the extended community for providing privacy and space to the Popovich family.”
The Spurs began Wednesday with a 5-6 record and were 3-3 under interim head coach Mitch Johnson.
“Pop’s impact on our organization, from the players that he’s coached and the staff that’s worked with him and the community of San Antonio, it’s hard to articulate or put into words,” Johnson, a Spurs assistant since 2019, said during his pregame press conference on Nov. 4.
“Right now, his health is the number one priority, and we support him in that 100 percent. I talked to him last night. He’s in good spirits. He’ll be OK. He is OK, and we can’t wait to have him back.”
Popovich is in his 29th season as the Spurs’ head coach. His 1,390 wins in the regular season are the most by a head coach in NBA history.
He won championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, each of which featured Hall of Fame power forward Tim Duncan on the Spurs’ roster. Popovich is a three-time NBA Coach of the Year.
Popovich is now in charge of leading a rebuild for the Spurs, who have finished with a 22-60 record in both of the last two seasons.
At the forefront of that rebuild is 7-4 center Victor Wembanyama, the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, who was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year last season and earned first-team All-Defensive honors.
The French-born Wembanyama entered Wednesday averaging 19.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks this season, leading the Spurs in each category.
“We all miss him. We hope he’s all right,” Wembanyama said of Popovich on Nov. 4. “We know he’s gonna want to come back earlier than he probably should, but that’s Pop.”
