The San Antonio Spurs will finish the 2024-25 season without their head coach Gregg Popovich on the sidelines.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Popovich isn’t expected to return to coaching this season. Popovich suffered a “mild stroke” in November and has been away from the team since.
Reportedly, Popovich is doing well in his recovery but his NBA future is uncertain.
The news about Popovich comes just days after San Antonio shut down their franchise star Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of the campaign. Wembanyama, who earned his first All-Star nod this season, is dealing with a right shoulder injury.
The Spurs turned to assistant Mitch Johnson as interim head coach in Popovich’s absence and he guided the team to a 21-27 record since. The Spurs went 3-7 in their last 10 games and currently find themselves in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 24-31 record.
Gregg Popovich initially joined the Spurs in 1988 as an assistant, remaining with the franchise until 1992 before joining the Golden State Warriors to work under Don Nelson. Popovich returned to the Spurs two years later as general manager and installed himself as the head coach midway through the 1996–97 campaign.
Since then, Popovich has become the NBA’s all-time leader in wins with 1,390 victories in the regular season. He led the Spurs to five NBA titles and one more NBA Finals appearance.
