Spurs' Chris Paul reacts to Gregg Popovich's absence amid health issue

11/04/2024 11:47 PM

INGLEWOOD, CA — The San Antonio Spurs announced on Monday morning that head coach Gregg Popovich would not make the team’s two-game road trip to face the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. Veteran guard Chris Paul says the team is ready for the next few games while Popovich recovers.

On Monday morning, ESPN reported that the Spurs head coach would be out indefinitely after suffering a health issue on Saturday. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was announced as the replacement for Popovich until he’s able to return.

Spurs’ Chris Paul speaks on Gregg Popovich

Chris Paul spoke with a small group of media members ahead of Monday night’s game against the LA Clippers, where he says he hasn’t been able to speak with Popovich yet, but has been kept apprised of the situation by the Spurs.

“I haven’t [had a chance to speak with him yet],” Chris Paul said. “I haven’t. I don’t think any of the guys on the team have obviously we wanted to, but trying to give him his space and trying to make sure we can control what we can control.

“I’ve only been with the team now for a few months, but I’ve paid attention to Pop my entire career and he is one of the best, if not the best, of putting everything into perspective. He’s so selfless and he makes sure we understand how privileged we are to play this game and to be in the NBA, but he’d be the first person to tell you not to worry about him and to go out and who but of course all the guys with our team, staff, everyone definitely miss him because he’s Pop, you know, so there’s a feeling when he’s in the room that just comforts everybody.”

Spurs General Manager Brian Wright is with the team on their two-game trip. Chris Paul says he’s been transparent in relaying whatever information players need to continue operating at their best.

“B. Wright has been amazing, man. And it’s crazy playing for a lot of years. I’ve been in a lot of, quote unquote, difficult situations. And just to see the way everything’s been handled, it’s been extremely professional, communicating with guys, and making sure that we know what’s going on.”

Chris Paul says not having Gregg Popovich is going to be tough given what he’s meant to the organization for the last few decades.

“You know, all of us in this league, you guys, the staffs, everyone that travels that’s a part of this whole business, you sort of just get used to things,” Paul added. “There’s certain things when you come into the arena. You know you’re going to see this person, you’re going to have these different routines. So any time something breaks up the routine, it’s different. Especially someone is polarizing as Pop. But I think the guys on our team, we excited to go out and hoop and play. We know he’s going to be watching. He’s going to let us know what he sees. And like I said, we’ll control what we can.”

So what’s the messaging Chris Paul and the Spurs are receiving from the top of the organization?

“We don’t ask too many questions,” Paul said of player communication with the Spurs. “We talk. We communicate. When you’re in this thing, you really are family. And so we talked. And I can’t say it enough how everyone within the team and the organization, we want to play hard and compete for Pop. Because he set a standard. You guys have seen it here for years. We all have. And so I think that’s the thing that we want to try to focus on right now, is going out there and play. Because we know if we don’t defend, we know we’re going to hear about it.”

The Spurs return home after this two-game road trip ending on November 6th in Houston. The Spurs will then have a five-game home-stand against the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Lakers from November 7th until November 15th.

There’s no official word on when Gregg Popovich will be able to return to coach the Spurs, but the organization will obviously be patient in giving him as much time as he needs to get back to the helm.

In 29 seasons as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich has amassed 1,391 regular season wins and 170 postseason wins. The next game Popovich steps on the sidelines to coach will be the 2,500th of his professional NBA career.

Popovich recently passed NBA coaching legend Lenny Wilkens — 2,487 games — for most games coached in NBA history.

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