Are we witnessing the end of Gregg Popovich's career?

Legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich won't return to the bench this season, the team announced Thursday, after the coach met with the team informing them of that decision.

Popovich hasn't coached the team since suffering what the team called a "mild" stroke on November 2 of last year. His status for this season has been up in the air since, and it was little surprise when the news broke that he would not be returning to the bench this year.

Now, however, it begs the question: have we seen the last of Popovich on an NBA sideline?

Coming back from something like a stroke, even a mild one, is incredibly difficult, and physically taxing. It takes months of therapy to recover, depending on what was affected.

Being an NBA head coach can be a physically grueling job. You're on your feet for hours at a time, and spend a ton of time grinding film, coming up with game plans. There's constant travel; to new cities, to hotels, to arenas, and to and from team facilities. It's a grind, and when you're dealing with something as serious as recovering from a stroke, it's a lot to ask of a person. It's hard to envision anyone, even someone as tough as Popovich, coming back to the sideline after something like that.

If it is the end for Popovich, he hangs up the whistle as one of, if not the best NBA head coach in history. He has the most wins of any coach in league history, a full 50 ahead of second place and more than 200 ahead of any current coach.

He's regarded as a tactical mastermind, an expert at maximizing player talent, while also being a strict disciplinarian. He's outspoken on issues of social justice, and will go down as one of the greatest minds in league history.

There is no coach more fully associated with a singular team than Popovich is to the Spurs. He is the Spurs, the face of a franchise that has seen some legitimate legends in its day.

It's certainly not the way he would want to end his career, but at this point, it's tough not to see this as the potential end of the road for a coaching legend.

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Spurs' Gregg Popovich won't return this season after stroke; is this the end for legendary coach?

By Sam Westmoreland | Feb 27, 2025