Report: Gregg Popovich not expected to return this season, future remains uncertain
Yesterday at 09:13 PM
While it isn't surprising Pop won't return this season, it's not a time that Spurs fans want more bad news,
The hits just keep coming for the Spurs this week and this season as a whole. The same week it was announced that Victor Wembanyama would miss the remainder of the season with a blood clot on in his shoulder, ESPN's Shams Charania is reporting that Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season after suffering a minor stroke back on November 2. While that alone isn't too surprising, he added that Pop's future remains uncertain at this time.
San Antonio Spurs' Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season, and his future is uncertain as he recovers from a mild stroke suffered in November, league sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/EekHlDa8NI
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 23, 2025
Obviously there's a long way to go before next season, and Pop has stated that he hopes to get back to coaching as soon as possible. However, whether he will be able to (or should) apparently remains up in the air. When/if he does retire, he will do it as the oldest coach to ever coach an NBA game at age 76, surpassing Hubie Brown at 71, and as the coach with the most wins in NBA history.
That being said, Pop is still president of basketball operations, and he has reportedly been actively communicating with Wemby this week in the wake of his own diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder. Considering a cause of strokes can be a blood clot denying blood supply to the brain, it is certainly something the two can relate over despite being 55 years apart in age.
"Sources say Wembanyama and Popovich have been in very active communication in the wake of this diagnosis. They've been speaking frequently. Gregg Popovich has been very hands-on with Wembanyama in the wake of what's happened this week."
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) February 23, 2025
- Shams Charania pic.twitter.com/qf8Ua7Deb7
Mitch Johnson has been serving as interim head coach for the Spurs in Pop' absence, and they have posted a 21-27 record under his guidance. While the Spurs are still in the play-in race record-wise, it may end up being difficult for them to make it after the loss of Wemby and a rough, exhausting schedule over the remaining 28 games, with only one instance of more than one day off.
It has been a trying season for the Spurs. Despite losing Pop early, they got off to a good start, sitting at 18-16 after a win in Denver on January 3, but it has been tough sailing ever since as the schedule heated up. There was brief respite from the frustration, and even excitement, a couple of weeks ago when the Spurs acquired De'Aaron Fox ahead of the trade deadline, and while the future still looks extremely bright with him joining the core, the news of losing Wemby has certainly put a damper on the rest of the season, and today's Pop news just adds to the disappointment, even if it was to-be-expected.
