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Greg Popovich resigned as San Antonio Spurs coach on Friday, leading his team to five NBA championships, becoming the league’s highest winning leader in history and earning him the Basketball Hall of Fame steer.
“While my love and passion for the game remained, I decided it was time to leave as head coach,” Popovich said.
He remains as the team president. Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson, who filled out Popovich in the final 77 games of the season, will become the team’s head coach.
Popovich, 76, missed everything except five games this season after stroked at the team’s arena on November 2nd. He spoke to the team at least once and made no statement that he hopes to return to coaching in late March.
That won’t happen.
“I am forever grateful for the incredible players, coaches, staff and fans who have allowed me to serve them as Spurs head coach and am excited to continue to support an organization, community and city that makes a lot of sense to me,” Popovich said.
Popovich’s career ends with a 1,422-869 record, including 77 games coached by Johnson this season (32 wins and 45 losses). He also won 170 playoff games with the Spurs. This is the most among coaches on one team, third and third best, only Phil Jackson’s 229 and Pat Riley’s 171.
“It was the best I’ve ever had,” the great Manu Zinobili said of Popovich last year.
NBA and Olympic champions
Popovich is the three-time coach of the year, winning the US gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and coaching six San Antonio Hall of Fame inductions. He played against 170 different coaches during his stay in the NBA, with 303 coaching changes made, including tentative moves during his time in Popovich.
“I have valuable videos on my phone,” said Chris Paul, who played for the Spurs this past season. “Before the shotaround we were in Oklahoma City. Pop is about ball handling. All these years, I’ve always seen pop coaches in suits, but I didn’t know how difficult he was when it came to training.”
That work ethic was carried over this year after stroke and Popovich’s commitment to his rehabilitation process, Paul said.
“I was the first person to arrive at the arena for a game. I’m going to pass the training room and Pop will be on the treadmill,” Paul said. “I had the opportunity to actually be there while Pop was doing rehab and stuff like that, so to see how hard he worked, it’s nice to have the opportunity to see. It had nothing to do with basketball. It showed who he was.”
He took over in 1996
Popovich, in his role as the Spurs general manager, fired Coach Bob Hill on December 10, 1996, and promoted him to the job. The Spurs were 3-15 at that point, but they played all 18 games without Robinson. Popovich took over the day Robinson returned to the lineup.
“We needed to change direction,” Popovich said that day.
The Spurs have not changed direction again since.
“The extraordinary impact of pop coaches on our families, San Antonio, the Spurs and basketball games, is profound,” said Peter J. Holt, Spurs managing partner. “His admiration and awards don’t give justice to the impact he has made on so many people. He, along with fans all over the world, is grateful for his incredible 29 years of management as the San Antonio Spurs head coach.”
Fate has changed – Duncan was selected as No. 1 overall in the 1997 draft, but the direction under Popovich remained the same. The first championship took place in 1999. Others followed in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. In his first 22 seasons as head coach, the Spurs had a 22 victory record, earning at least 60% of the time in the first 20 of that season.
His decision now has just completed his second year of rebuilding French star Victor Wenbagnama, and was touted as the next San Antonio great and did nothing to suggest that he would not meet that claim.
How did he start?
Popovich played for the US Air Force Academy, but never was selected in a bid to create a 1972 US Olympic team — some say he still deserves a spot for that team — and became a completely satisfied coach for Pomona Pitzer, Division III program in California, for his entire professional life. The school lost 88 consecutive meeting games when he arrived. It didn’t take long for Popovich to hold the conference championship.
In the end, the NBA was called. Eventually, Popovich will be paired with Robinson, then with the dynasty patriarch who was fueled by Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. And then Popovich put together a career like the others.
“Everyone knows the great work he’s done and all the accomplishments he’s done,” longtime director Larry Brown said in 2021.
He was a famously grumpy, loved to clash with reporters, and rarely provided details about basketball or personal life other than what he needed. It was also realistic and an act. Popovich also has a much softer side. He has defended quietly defended causes like the San Antonio Food Bank for years and has not been afraid to be known about his political views. And those lucky enough to know that he is hilarious.
“He has a sense of humor,” Boston forward Jason Tatum said while playing for Popovich at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago. “I think casual fans will see people doing those interviews after the game, but that’s not the case with who he is. I love spending time with him.”
The losses in the 2013 NBA Finals crushed Popovich. Popovich closed out the Miami Heat with the Spurs closing the Miami Heat in six games. After 3 pointers for Ley Allen, after a 5.2 seconds of 3 pointers in regulation, he lost Game 6 and kept Game 7.
Spoelstra, who became Heat’s head coach in 2008, is currently the longest tenered in the league in his current position.
“He has always been an incredible example of class, dignity,” Spuerstra said of Popovich. “To be able to do that after a victory or loss is a great example of being able to still have classes regardless of how the outcome comes during the game.”
When the Spurs defeated the title Heat in the 2014 final rematch, it was Spaelstra who felt the stab wounds of a loss. And once again, congratulations to Popovich on his well done work.
“There’s no one like pop,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.
A period where there is almost nothing else
Popovich was in terms of office like the other few. Popovich coached the Spurs for 29 seasons. This is a span that is almost unparalleled in the history of major professional sports in the United States. Connie Mac managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Harras coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years, and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. These three tenures all conclude more than half a century ago, but are the only ones that surpass the length of Popovich’s Cochin Gran with the Spurs. His 29 years at San Antonio coincided with Tom Laundry of the Dallas Cowboys and Carly Rambaud of the Green Bay Packers.
“That means I’m getting older,” Popovich said last year.
Popovich broke the kind of gender barrier in the league when he hired Becky Hamon as the league’s first female full-time paid assistant coach. Hamon, now a coach for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Ace, became the first female head summer league coach in the NBA and the first female proxy head coach when he replaced Popovich in the game in 2020.
“Basketball is basketball,” South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley said in 2017 when asked about Popovich. “There’s no gender, there’s no heart. There’s an approach. There’s an opportunity. The women are superior in this game. Gender. I think he has a great basketball mind.
Popovich spoke about wine wherever possible and provided his views on politics and current events, but rarely provided much insight into coaching decisions or personnel issues. It’s almost a military-like secret, and makes sense considering Popovich was a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and, among other things, an expert on the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.
His love for the country led to him doing small side work during his tenure in San Antonio. He coaches USA basketball at the 2019 World Cup and Tokyo Olympics two years later. His World Cup team finished in 7th place. This is the worst placement ever for a US team with NBA players. His Olympic team won gold.
“If you were in the military, it’s impossible to separate it,” Popovich said when asked about the similarities between being at the Air Force Academy and coaching the country’s national team. “I had classmates who fought in the war – I don’t have – and some of them are not with us anymore. You get appreciation for those who sacrificed. So when you have the opportunity to do this for your country, I love being part of it.”
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