Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich held an emotional in-person meeting Thursday with San Antonio Spurs players, who were all able to see him for the first time since his stroke in November, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
After the meeting, Popovich issued a statement saying he officially will not return as coach this season but hopes to return in the future.
“I’ve decided not to return to the sidelines this season,” Popovich said in a statement issued Thursday. “Mitch Johnson and his staff have done a wonderful job and the resolve and professionalism the players have shown, sticking together during a challenging season, has been outstanding.
“I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future.”
Sources told ESPN that tears were shed during the players’ meeting with Popovich on Thursday and those in the room saw physical signs of what the coach has gone through since the stroke. The meeting, however, was typical “Pop,” sources told ESPN, and was filled with motivational messages, jokes, critique and praise from the coach.
He told the players that he wants to coach, and that he can’t do what he loves to do, sources told ESPN.
Popovich is the NBA’s winningest coach with 1,412 regular-season victories and another 170 in the postseason to go with five championships. On Nov. 2, he suffered what the team called a “mild stroke” ahead of a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Spurs have gone 22-30 since moving Johnson, an assistant, into the head coaching role on an interim basis.
Popovich, who has coached the Spurs since the 1996-97 season, turned 76 in January and is the oldest coach in NBA history. He agreed to a five-year contract extension with the team in 2023.
His only public comment prior to Thursday about his health and his future came in mid-December, when he said he and his family were overwhelmed by “the outpouring of support we’ve received during this time.”
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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