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Spurs: Coach Gregg Popovich is recovering from a minor stroke

At 75, Gregg Popovich is the oldest coach in NBA history.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich is recovering from what the San Antonio Spurs called a mild stroke, although there is no timetable for the NBA's longest-serving coach to return to the sidelines.

Popovich suffered the stroke on Nov. 2 at the arena where the Spurs play, the team said Wednesday, and has already begun a rehabilitation program in hopes he will make a full recovery. The team did not provide any further details, including what, if any, after-effects of the stroke he is dealing with.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for the past three decades. We have all come across people or know people who simply have a different aura, a different presence about them.

“Obviously he’s one of those people. When we walk into the building every day, we feel that guidance, we feel that presence, and when we don't have it, there's definitely an emptiness. And we miss him.”

Popovich, 75, is the NBA's all-time winningest player who has led the Spurs to five championships and led USA Basketball to a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He is in his 29th season as Spurs coach.

“He's fine. He's fine. … He’s tough, he’s a fighter and he’ll work,” Wright said. “We’re all here for him, but he’s fine.”

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson served as interim head coach in Popovich's absence. The Spurs play Washington at home on Wednesday, and this will be the seventh straight game in which Johnson will fill in for Popovich.

“Mitch has been great,” Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said Wednesday before the team announced the details of Popovich’s health. “Even when Pop was here, he always had a voice in our groups and in our locker room. Our philosophies haven’t changed.”

A stroke occurs when blood flows if part of the brain is blocked or if a blood vessel in the brain bursts. This deprives the brain of oxygen, which can cause brain damage that can lead to difficulty thinking, speaking and walking, or even death. Strokes can cause difficulty speaking, paralysis or loss of movement of certain muscles, memory loss, and more.

It is not known whether Popovich is suffering from the after-effects of the stroke.

That was the stroke fourth leading cause of death in the United States By 2023, more than half a million Americans will suffer a stroke each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Spurs were playing at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 2, and Popovich's medical seizure occurred there in the hours before that game. Johnson took over that night's game, which the Spurs won after the team said Popovich wasn't feeling well.

Johnson and Popovich spoke on Nov. 3, and on Nov. 4, Johnson said Popovich was “in good spirits…he's going to be fine. “He's doing fine.” The Spurs had not released many details since announcing the stroke on Wednesday .

Wright raved about the way Johnson and the Spurs came together and handled the team leader's absence.

“That’s exactly what Coach Pop would want us to do.” Wright said. “So it’s up to all of us to do our part, play our role, continue to lean on each other, support each other and be there for each other.”

Popovich is one of only three coaches, along with Don Nelson and Pat Riley, to win the NBA Coach of the Year award three times. He is one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5) are the others.

Popovich has been part of the Spurs for almost 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988 to 1992 and then returned to the club on May 31, 1994 as executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager. On December 10, 1996, he made the decision to fire coach Bob Hill and appoint himself coach.

Since then he has been the Spurs' assistant coach.

“We look forward to the day when we can welcome him back” Wright said.

Popovich's 29-year career with the Spurs is a span that is almost unprecedented in the history of major American professional sports.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Halas coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years, and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. Those three terms – all of which ended well over half a century ago – are the only ones that top Popovich's run with the Spurs; His 29-year tenure in San Antonio to date matches the tenures enjoyed by Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys and Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers in those positions.

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