The legendary Coach Gregg Popovich will no longer be the Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich is transitioning to Team President. Coach Pop has been recovering since suffering a stroke on November 2, 2024 and took an indefinite leave of absence from the team.
Popovich’s Coaching Career
Gregg Popovich’s coaching career was legendary. The NBA’s all-time winningest coach took over the San Antonio Spurs in the 1996-1997 season and finished with a record of 17-47 and would land the number one pick in the draft lottery. With the selection of Tim Duncan, the rest was history. After drafting Duncan, the Spurs would go on to have one of the most dominant dynastys the NBA has ever seen. San Antonio would go the next 22 stright seasons without a losing record. The Spurs would have a record of 1228-528 over those 22 seasons, a winning percentage of 69.9%.
Playoff Success
Not only was he one of the most dominant regular season franchises under Popovich’s tenure, they were a dominant postseason team. The San Antonio Spurs would make the playoffs in every season when they had a winning record. They would reach the conference finals or further in 10 of the 22 playoff appearances, including six finals appearances and winning five titles. It could have been six for six if not for one of the craziest comebacks in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
Final Chapter of Pop
When Duncan retired in 2016, the Spurs were still a great team but were never the same. They would go on to make the conference finals the following season but would get swept by the Golden State Warriors. Then, the Spurs would make the postseason the following two seasons, but the roster wasn’t good enough to continue their previous success. They would draft Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and seem to be Pop’s next Duncan. However, Pop would suffer a stroke on November 2, 2024, and would never coach again.
So what’s next for the San Antonio Spurs? They are hiring Mitch Johnson as their next head coach. Johnson was the interim head coach after Pop’s stroke and has been an assistant coach with the Spurs since the 2019-2020 season. He also had a record of 10-18 as interim head coach this season.
Gregg Popovich was one of the best head coaches in NBA history. He retired from coaching as the most winning coach in NBA history. Pop would coach in 2291 games and have a record of 1422-869, a winning percentage of 62.1%. It is excellent that he will still be around the basketball game, as he is among the most respected people in the NBA world. Not only was he one of the most dominant regular season franchises under Popovich’s tenure, they were a dominant postseason team.
The San Antonio Spurs would make the playoffs in every season when they had a winning record. They would reach the conference finals or further in 10 of the 22 playoff appearances, including six finals appearances and winning five titles. It could have been six for six if not for one of the craziest comebacks in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
