In a sport in which the spotlights are usually carried by the players, and more in the case of the American League, with legends of planetary reach, Gregg Popovich has won from the bench strain its name among its main figures. Defending the colors of the Spurs the Indiana coach has become One of the most important in the NBAleader in victories with 1,422 in regular season, five championships and three times winner of the Award for the Coach of the Year. Now, after 29 seasons on the bench of the San Antonio team, it seems that his adventure in the band comes to an end.
According to the journalist of the ESPNShams Charania, the 76 -year -old veteran coach will definitely change the bench for the offices, after the stroke he suffered last November and who has kept him away from the track throughout this season, in which he has been the assistant coach Mitch Johnson who assumed the position of first coach interim.
During his recovery Popovich has closely followed the team, even in the daily work on the parquet, but he could no longer face the routine of a chief coach in the best basketball league in the world. That’s why will assume the position of president of Operations of the Texana franchise full time.
A long career in San Antonio
Member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Gregg Popovich began his career with the Spurs as a Larry Brown assistant in 1988, and after a brief stage in the Golden State Warriors He became chief coach of the Spurs in December 1996. After San Antonio stayed out of the playoffs that season and won the first team of the Draft, choosing Tim Duncan, Popovich led the Spurs 22 consecutive playoffs between 1998 and 2019, achieving at least 50 victories in 18 consecutive campaigns.
Popovich, which is One of the five coaches in NBA’s history to win at least five titlestogether with Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5), had become the oldest technician in the history of the NBA and had even signed in 2023 an extension of the five -year contract with the team.
Now, with this step aside, the active coach more senior in the NBA will be Erik spoelstrawhich directs the Miami Heat since the 2008-09 season. The next on the list is Steve Kerrwho won the last two of his five championships as a player under the direction of Popovich before embarking on a successful career as a coach with the Warriors in 2014.
Beyond the NBA Popovich, he was also the main coach of the United States male team in the 2019 FIBA World Championship and at the Tokyo Olympic Games, where the United States won its fourth consecutive gold medal.
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