Legendary San Antonio Spurs coach and president Gregg Popovich is still recovering from a stroke he suffered in November and will not return to the sidelines this season. He hopes to coach again in the future, however, and recently addressed the team for the first time since his stroke.
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson revealed what happened during that late-February meeting in an interview with ESPN, and it’s clear that Popovich is still locked in on what’s happening on the court.
“Everybody shut the f— up when he walked in,” Johnson said. “That’s just how it’s always been with Pop. Obviously, he’s still recovering. But he was still cussing. ‘Y’all need to play defense. Y’all need to rebound.’ Knowing that, shit, he really is watching the games because he’s calling out specific situations, was huge.
“It was what we needed. I feel like he brought that life, that spark. That Pop that we all knew and loved. He came into that meeting and that’s who he was. It was like he didn’t skip a beat.”
Popovich, 76 and already a Hall of Famer, has made excellent progress since November. Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright reported in their story that, “another source said the coach has advanced in five months of rehab to the point where many who suffer strokes progress over nine months.”
But being an NBA coach requires far more than just being able to walk and lead team meetings. Will Popovich be healthy and strong enough to resume the full-time grind? That’s still to be determined. What is clear, though, is that the Spurs will give Popovich every chance to resume his role.
“It’s Pop’s decision,” one person close to the situation told ESPN. “He’s earned that.”
This has been a difficult season in San Antonio even beyond Popovich’s health scare. Star big man Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the remainder of the season in February after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder, and recently acquired point guard De’Aaron Fox underwent season-ending surgery on his finger this month.
After playing .500 ball through the first 36 games, the team has understandably struggled over the last two months. Now 28-39 on the season, the Spurs are four games out of a Play-In Tournament spot and headed for a sixth straight lottery appearance.
