Spurs’ Gregg Popovich leaves bench, becomes team president

SAN ANTONIO: Gregg Popovich is stepping away as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and will become the team’s president of basketball operations, the Spurs announced Friday.

Popovich, 76, took over as the head coach in San Antonio 18 games into the 1996-97 season as led the Spurs to five NBA championships in 29 seasons. With 1,422 regular-season wins, he is the winningest coach in NBA history.

He missed most of the 2024-25 campaign, however, after suffering a mild stroke on Nov. 2. Interim coach Mitch Johnson was in charge the rest of the season and posted a 31-45 record with the young Spurs.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement Friday. “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.”

The team promoted longtime assistant Johnson, 38, to replace Popovich.

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“We are thrilled for Mitch Johnson to be our next head coach,” Spurs managing partner Peter J Holt said. “Throughout his decade in the organization we have seen that Mitch has the right values, poise and potential to lead us into the future.”

The Spurs finished the 2024-25 campaign at 34-38 but have two of the brightest young stars in the game — Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, the last two winners of the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

The Spurs made the NBA playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons under Popovich but have not qualified in the past six. San Antonio won at least 50 games in 18 consecutive seasons.

The Spurs put out a tribute video Friday that featured him along with some of the greatest moments and greatest players of his era, writing, “Thank you, Coach Pop, for your brilliance on and off the court. We look forward to our next chapter together.”

Erik Spoelstra, who has guided the Miami Heat since the 2008-09 season, becomes the longest-tenured coach in the NBA.

Popovich began his NBA career in 1988 as an assistant to Spurs coach Larry Brown. In 1992, he moved to a similar role with the Golden State Warriors and returned to San Antonio after two seasons, first in a front office role before becoming head coach. In all, 35 of his 37 NBA seasons have been with the Spurs.

With the Spurs, he has a career record of 1,422-869 in the regular season (.621) and a postseason record of 170-114 (.599).

He has won three NBA Coach of the Year awards, tying Don Nelson and Pat Riley for the most all-time honors. He led the Spurs to titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014.

Popovich also led the 2020 US Olympic team to a gold medal in Tokyo. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.