Gregg Popovich, coach of San Antonio Spurs, announced on Friday (2) that he leaves the position of coach of the team. Over the course of 29 years, Popovich, which has 76, led Texas’s team to five NBA titles.
“Although my love and passion for the game continues, I decided it’s time to leave the position of main coach,” says the statement.
The permanence for so many years in office is unusual. Now Popovich continues on the team as president. Mitch Johnson, one of his assistants, assumes the function.
The removal amid the coach’s health problems. In November last year, he had a stroke in the team’s arena and since then only commanded five matches in the championship. Johnson took over the other 77 games of the season.
Popovich leaves office with some records: he is the coach who won more Play Offs with a single team, 170. He was also responsible for the US victory in basketball at the Tokyo Olympics.
Under their baton, San Antonio Spurs took five NBA titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. For 22 consecutive years, he had more wins than defeats of the season. He was also elected three times the NBA coach of the year.
He is seen as a versatile technician who adapts the game according to the team in hand. Popovich began in the role in 1996, after firing Bob Hall – at the time, he was the director of the team.
The following year, he hired Tim Duncan, considered one of the greatest pivots in NBA history. Two years later, in 1999, the team won the first title in the championship.
