Spurs' Gregg Popovich unlikely to return in 2024-25 season amid recovery from mild stroke
Yesterday at 08:02 PM
After being away from the team for all of 2025, fans have been wondering when Gregg Popovich would return to his place at the head of the San Antonio Spurs bench following a mild stroke in late 2024.
Well, on Saturday, they got their answer, with ESPN’s Shams Charania officially reporting that Pop is not expected to return to the Spurs this season, with his future in San Antonio very much uncertain moving forward.
“San Antonio Spurs’ Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season,” Charania wrote, “And his future is uncertain as he recovers from a mild stroke suffered in November, league sources tell ESPN.”
Since Popovich has been away from the Spurs, he’s been replaced by assistant coach Mitch Johnson, who actually began his career as a guard at Stanford before transitioning into the coaching ranks last decade as a member of the San Antonio system. While the team hasn’t exactly flourished with their long-time head coach away, with their playoff dreams largely dashed after Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the rest of the year with deep vein thrombosis, they have turned in enough flashes to justify trading for De’Aaron Fox, who should theoretically help to headline a contending core alongside the reigning Rookie of the Year.
Initially joining the Spurs all the way back in 1996 after serving as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, Popovich has become the gold standard of coaching at the NBA level, winning five NBA Championships, three NBA Coach of the Year awards, and four chances to coach the All-Star game. Though he may be the oldest active head coach in the NBA, he was still deemed the best man to coach Wemby to greatness in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft and has largely lived up to those expectations in San Antonio.
Will Popovich return to the NBA and his spot on the bench coaching the Spurs at some point in the future? It’s impossible to say, but considering how the last few months have shaken out, San Antonio would be wise to begin preparing for life without their Hall of Fame coach, as his time on the bench will be up sooner than later, no matter how his recovery shakes out.
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