One of the most successful and well-run franchises over the last three decades, the San Antonio Spurs, announced Wednesday that coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke at the beginning of November, leading to his recent indefinite medical absence from the team.
In the statement released by the team, the Spurs said the stroke occurred on Saturday, November 2 at their home arena, the Frost Bank Center. Eleven days after the stroke, the organization says Popovich has already begun a rehabilitation program and “is expected to make a full recovery.” However, there is no definite timeline for his return to the bench, so it is unclear when he might be back this season, or if 2025 is a more realistic goal for everyone involved.
Popovich’s stroke was originally announced as an unspecified medical episode that occurred out of the blue on November 2, the day the Spurs faced Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Popovich did not coach that game and assistant Mitch Johnson patrolled the sideline in his absence. It was announced two days later that Johnson would take over as coach on an interim basis. The Spurs are (.500), 3-3.
Popovich last coached the Spurs on Halloween, October 31, on the road against the Utah Jazz, where the team got a win.
Embed from Getty Images“He’s not feeling well,” Mitch Johnson said of Popovich last week. “This has happened before. I think everybody’s just always got to be ready for the next man up. We’ve had it with injuries and sometimes people get sick or don’t feel well or things come up in life. He’s just not feeling well.”
Popovich, 75, is in his 29th season with the Spurs, and is the longest-tenured head coach in the league. He is the all-time winningest coach in the NBA with 1,391 career regular-season victories and another 170 postseason wins. He has also coached five Spurs teams to NBA titles, in 1999, 2003, 20005, 2007 and 2014.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
The Spurs are 5-6 this season entering Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards.
