THE San Antonio Spurs revealed the reason why Gregg Popovitch He had to leave the team temporarily. The NBA franchise announced that the legendary coach had suffered an injury. “light blow” and that until he achieves “full recovery” he will not return to his job. Likewise, they declared that this resumption was expected, without however setting a date for their return.
Popovich, 75, suffered a stroke on November 2 before a match against the Minnesota Timberwolves and two days later, we learned that he was leaving the bench for an indefinite period due to health problems. In a statement, the Spurs reported that Popovich suffered a stroke at Frost Bank Center, the Texas franchise’s home field.
“Popovich, who has already started a rehabilitation program, is expected to make a full recovery. For the moment, no deadline has been set for his return to the field,” the team said in the press release it published on its networks.
Spurs asked “privacy and space for the Popovich family” during this period. In his absence, Mitch Johnson took over as interim on the Spurs bench, which will continue during the absence of the head coach.
– San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 13, 2024
Spurs submit Popovich’s medical report
Considered one of the best coaches in basketball history, Popovich is synonymous with success, perseverance and loyalty to the spurs, which he has led without interruption since the 1996-1997 season. Popovich completely changed the franchise’s DNA and led the Spurs to five rings (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014).
Popovich’s extraordinary career in the NBA is above all linked to a basketball legend like Tim Duncan and also to other exceptional players like David Robinson, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and the Argentinian Manu Ginobili. Since last year, he has had the responsibility of molding a generational talent like Frenchman Victor Wembanyama at Spurs.
During his long career, there have been milestones such as being the winningest coach in NBA history, which he achieved in 2022. He has also served as coach of the United States for three years, from 2018 to 2021, winning Olympic gold in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
