Legend has retreated behind the scenes! 76-year-old Popovich stepped down as Spurs coach and led the team to win the NBA championship five times

On May 3, the San Antonio Spurs announced that Greg Popovich will be transferred from head coaching to the team's president of basketball operations.

Popovich served as the head coach of the Spurs for 29 seasons, and won a total of 1,422 regular season victories, the most in NBA history. During his leadership, he won five NBA championship trophys for the team.

Since joining the Spurs as Larry Brown's assistant coach in the summer of 1988, Popovich has worked in the NBA coaching and management positions for 37 years. From 1992 to 1994, he served as assistant coach for Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson. He has played for the San Antonio Spurs for 35 seasons.

Regarding the change of identity, Popo also issued a statement: "Although I still have love and passion for this sport, I decided it was time to step down as head coach. I will always be grateful to the outstanding players, coaching staff, staff and fans who gave me the opportunity to be the head coach of the Spurs. I am also looking forward to continuing to support this team, community and city that has far-reaching significance to me in the future."

coaching the Spurs for more than 20 years, Popovich has demonstrated unparalleled basketball wisdom. In addition to the court, he also has a philosophy of life that enlightens life. At the 2023 Hall of Fame ceremony, he once said: "The so-called victory or defeat will one day be erased by time. What is really important is the connection between you and the people around you. Feelings will always be left in your heart, and true sense of self-identity and satisfaction will be born from this."

At the Rockets vs. Warriors coach Cole appeared in a Popovich commemorative T-shirt today. He quipped: "Coach Bobo saw me wearing this dress and probably scolded me to death, but I just want to say thank you, thank him and the Spurs for all the meaning he has given me in my career."

It is reported that the reason why Popovich, 76, resigned from the Spurs head coach is mainly due to health and age factors. In November 2024, he suffered a slight stroke and had to leave the team temporarily. Despite his good recovery, he decided to resign from his position as head coach, given his age and the high-intensity work of his head coach position. The decision was to ensure his health and allow him to continue to contribute to the Spurs in a more relaxed way.

According to ESPN reporter Shams Charania, Popovich has been involved in the team's work in recent days and appears in the San Antonio facility. Although Popovich would like to return to the sideline coach, he concluded that as an NBA head coach, he could no longer continue to take on the heavy work.

Popovich. Source: NBA official

Public information shows that Gregg Popovich, born on January 28, 1949 in East Chicago, Indiana, is a Serbian and Croatian-American basketball player and coach. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy and is currently the president of the NBA San Antonio Spurs.

In 1996, Greg Popovich began coaching the Spurs and was the coach of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States for the longest time coaching the same team. He led the Spurs to win five NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014); he won the NBA coach of the year three times (2003, 2012, 2014); and was elected as the head coach of the NBA All-Star Western Conference four times (2005, 2011, 2013, 2016).

On February 10, 2015, the Spurs defeated the Pacers, which gave Greg Popovich his 1,000th regular season victory in his NBA coaching career. On October 24, 2015, Popovich was appointed as the next head coach of the US Men's Basketball Team, with a term ranging from 2017 to 2020. In August 2021, Popovich led the US team to win the Tokyo Olympic men's basketball championship.

In 2021, Popovich, who was 72 years old, chose to continue coaching the Spurs in the 2021-22 season. In March 2022, Popovich won the 1336th coaching career, surpassing Old Nelson to ranked first in history. In April 2023, Popovich was selected for the Naismith Basketball Celebrity Memorial. On July 9 of the same year, Popovich signed a five-year contract renewal with the Spurs with a total price of more than $80 million, and created the largest coaching contract in NBA history.