Gregg Popovich Will Stop Coaching After 29-Year Run with San Antonio Spurs amid Health Issues

Pop is drawing up a new play.

Longtime San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will transition away from the bench to a new role as the team’s president of basketball operations, the team announced on Friday, May 2.

The news comes six months to the day after Popovich suffered a stroke just before tipoff of a game between the Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 2, 2024.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich, 76, said in a statement. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

The NBA’s all-time winningest coach, he led the Spurs to five championships since he took the coaching reins in 1996.

While the coach has not shared a recent update on his health, he suffered a medical emergency while dining at a steakhouse in San Antonio last month.

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In footage of the incident on Tuesday, April 15, the Hall of Fame coach was seen being loaded into an ambulance with what was later disclosed as “non-life threatening injuries.” A source told TMZ Sports at the time that Popovich was speaking and alert as he was taken out of the restaurant. 

Popovich’s health scare came less than two months after he announced to his team that he wouldn’t be returning during the season.

Shortly after he suffered the stroke last fall, Pop provided an update on his health in a statement on X on Monday, Dec. 16.

“This has certainly been an unexpected six weeks for my family and me,” he said in the statement. “As we work together on my recovery, I want to take a moment to share that the outpouring of support we’ve received during this time has been truly overwhelming in the best possible way.”

After thanking Spurs staff and the San Antonio community for their support, he made a joke at his own expense regarding his lovably gruff demeanor.

“No one is more excited to see me return to the bench than the talented individuals who have been leading my rehabilitation process,” Popovich said at the time. “They’ve quickly learned that I’m less than coachable.”