San Antonio Spurs legendary head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2 before the team’s sixth game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With Popovich away from the team to focus on his health, lead assistant Mitch Johnson has stepped up as the interim head coach of the Spurs.
You can’t tell the story of this franchise in San Antonio without Popovich, as he helped shape them into one of the most successful organizations in league history. His influence across the league runs deep with several current head coaches and assistants, which is why Popovich has received nothing but support from every single NBA franchise during his recovery.
While he missed basically all of the 2024-25 season, the league’s all-time winningest coach continues to rehab from this scary medical episode. Although it took several months for him to build up the strength to walk again and stand in front of the team to address them, Popovich still has one goal in mind — returning to the sidelines for his 30th NBA season next year.
All signs currently point in the direction of Popovich being able to do so, as the 76-year-old head coach has progressed in five months of rehab to the point where many who suffered a stroke are after nine months, according to Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Veteran forward Harrison Barnes added that the Spurs head coach is “ahead of schedule” in his long recovery process to regain normalcy in his life.
Even so, whether Popovich can return for the 2025-26 NBA season remains unclear.
Spurs’ future with Popovich
Without Popovich leading the Spurs on the sideline, Johnson has stepped up and done a great job leading this franchise at a pivotal time.
Victor Wembanyama put together a terrific second season in the league and proved to be an MVP-like player in San Antonio. After making his first All-Star appearance, Wemby was unfortunately shut down for the remainder of the year after medical personnel discovered a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
Alongside Wembanyama, the Spurs still have plenty of young, athletic, and high-potential players continuing to develop, such as Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, and Stephon Castle, who will potentially win this season’s Rookie of the Year award. The Spurs also pulled off one of the biggest in-season acquisitions in team history by trading for De’Aaron Fox to pair him with Wembanyama for the foreseeable future.
San Antonio’s interim coach has learned a lot from Popovich.
Johnson, 38, has been alongside Popovich since 2019 and has been the long-time coach’s right-hand man over the last few seasons. He will continue to lead the franchise in Popovich’s absence, pinning him as the likely successor for when the Spurs’ legend is ready to finally retire.
But Popovich isn’t planning to retire now, nor in the middle of the 2025-26 NBA season. This stroke was a setback that Popovich is motivated to come back from. Like he has seen with his players through the years dealing with injuries, Popovich has the same resilient mindset of not letting this medical challenge dictate his life.
While this is still an ongoing recovery process that will see plenty of roadblocks ahead, Popovich’s goals remain unchanged. Coaching is his life. Popovich not only wants to prove that he can return to his players and the organization, but to himself as well.
When the time to retire comes, he will be celebrated as the greatest coach in NBA history. However, Popovich remains determined to overcome this stroke and once again be introduced on the sidelines as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.
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