Spurs executive talks Gregg Popovich’s health concerns

While he was in France for San Antonio Spurs pair of games against the Indiana Pacers, franchise CEO RC Buford shared a status update Gregg Popovich. The The Hall of Fame coach suffered a mild stroke in early November and has been officially out of the organization ever since. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson served as the team’s head coach in Pop’s absence.

Since then, indications pointed to Popović’s return as the NBA’s longest-tenured coach is on the mend. French journalist Maxime Aubin reports that Buford confirmed those assumptions while speaking in Paris.

“He’s getting better every week (since his stroke). We don’t know when he will be back, but he will be back at some point.”

Timeline as Gregg Popovich bounces back

The 75-year-old Popovic has not been with the Spurs since November 2. That day the team hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they did so without their head coach who left the arena before what marked their sixth game of the season.

Two days later, after reports surfaced of potential health concerns for Popovic, the Spurs issued a statement that he would not travel with the team on the ensuing road trip to face the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets.

On November 13, the franchise announced that Popovic had suffered a mild stroke. The press release confirmed that it happened on November 2 and that the 29-year-old coach is expected to make a full recovery. A timeline for his return was not given, but he said Popovic has begun a rehabilitation program.

Popović made his first public statement more than a month later. After thanking the community, Spurs organization and fans, the message reiterated that the winningest coach in NBA history would return.

“No one is more excited to get back on the bench than the talented individuals who have guided my rehabilitation process.” “They quickly learned that I wasn’t coach enough,” Pop said in a statement.

Since then, Mitch Johnson and several players have said that Popovich has been reaching out to them.

Spurs’ trip to Paris is a kind of reminder of Popović

Gregg Popovich served five years of mandatory active duty in the United States Air Force, during which he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with the US Armed Forces basketball team. After choosing to become a professional coach, his first time in the NBA came in 1988 when he joined the staff of Spurs Larry Brown as an assistant.

A year later, the Air Force Academy diploma proved to be crucial in acquiring a good potential team from Montenegro named Žarko Paspaj. That would foreshadow a huge part of Popović’s legacy.

From Tony Parker to Manu Ginobiliso far Victor Vembanyama, under Pop, the Spurs have helped pave the way for international influence in the NBA.

At the same time, Popović has long been known for passions that go beyond basketball, including respect for worldly things. His love for wine is one of his personal characteristics.

Then call it irony — perhaps it’s fitting that the update from Buford comes in the French environment that Popovich helped create.