San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was not on the bench for Saturday's game against Minnesota because of an undisclosed illness, will miss at least the next two games, the team said Monday.
The NBA’s all-time winningest coach did not coach the Spurs in their 113-103 victory against the Timberwolves, and assistant coach Mitch Johnson took over.
Popovich, 75, did not travel with the team to Los Angeles for Monday’s game against the Clippers, the team said, and Johnson is expected to coach against the Clippers and against Houston Wednesday.
ESPN reported that Popovich had a "health issue" before Saturday’s game against the Timberwolves. Johnson said he was told about 2½ hours before the game that Popovich would not be available.
"Shoutout to Mitch, he did a great job tonight," Spurs guard Chris Paul told reporters after Spurs-Timberwolves game.
All things Spurs: Latest San Antonio Spurs news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
Johnson, 37, played basketball at Stanford and is in his ninth season with the Spurs. He is considered one of the league’s top young assistant coaches.
Popovich is No. 1 on the all-time list of winningest coaches with 1,391 victories in 28-plus seasons with the Spurs. Popovich, a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and five-time NBA championship coach, passed Don Nelson for the top spot in 2022.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
2025-04-20 13:07872 view
2025-04-20 12:52527 view
2025-04-20 12:021584 view
2025-04-20 11:472546 view
2025-04-20 11:401768 view
2025-04-20 11:021113 view
In the new Netflix action thriller “Rebel Ridge,” Don Johnson has ventured far from the heroic likes
If the first “Joker” asked if we could have empathy for the devil, the sequel questions if we're rea
Jennifer Hudson isn't afraid to put her boyfriend Common in the hot seat.That's why she playfully ca