By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The winningest coach in the history of the NBA will be flipping over his play board, for good.
After 29 seasons as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, Gregg Popovich decided to step down and announced his new career move on May 3, 2025, which shocked the whole basketball world.
“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement posted by the Spurs.
Although Popovich will no longer lead the silver and black on the sidelines of every NBA game, San Antonio confirmed that he will still be a part of the franchise and will transition to being the President of Basketball Operations.
Taking over his role as the team’s new chief tactician is Mitch Johnson, his assistant who assumed the interim coaching position when Popovich took a break after suffering a mild stroke last November 3, 2024.
It was mixed emotions from Popovich’s fellow NBA coaches, former players, and peers inside the professional hoops family, knowing that they will not see the legendary mentor on the sidelines anymore when the next season kicks off later this month.
Widely considered the most successful coach to ever handle a team in the NBA, Popovich will conclude his coaching duties with the most regular season wins (1,422 games) in the history of the league, while leading San Antonio to five championship titles.
He was named the NBA Coach of the Year thrice and was the architect of the Spurs’ winning culture as soon as he was hired as the team’s head coach in 1996. Throughout his illustrious career, Popovich also led the USA national basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 2020.
According to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania, one of the factors that led to his decision was his health. After his stroke in November, Popovich underwent another medical scare on April 19, 2025.
Popovich reportedly fainted while dining at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. He had to be transported to a nearby hospital via an ambulance. Hours after the medical episode, everyone caught a sigh of relief when the doctors cleared him to go home and is now stable.
In the words of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, Popovich’s former players, whatever Pop decides to do, the most important thing for him right now is his health.
“I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me,” Popovich added.
