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Basketball legendary coach Gregg Popovich announced on Friday that he would resign from the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs And will go full time to the president of basketball operations.
The announcement followed the absence of Popovich for most of the 2024 season after the team Previously called a slight stroke.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, on the left, and goalkeeper Tony Parker, n ° 9, speak during training on Wednesday June 12, 2013 in San Antonio before match 4 of the NBA final against Miami Heat. (AP photo / Eric gay, file)
“Although my love and my passion for the game remain, I decided it was time to move away as a chief coach,” Popovich said in a statement on Friday afternoon. “I am eternally grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as a head coach of the Spurs and I am delighted to continue to support the organization, the community and the city which are so significant for me.”
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The mandate of Popovich ends after a race of almost three decades which saw him entail the Spurs at five Nba Championships. He remains the leader of all time in the league and has the most victories in the playoffs with a team by any coach in the history of the NBA. His career, which also included the name of the NBA year -round coach three times and an Olympic gold medal, earned him a place at the renowned temple in 2023.
The American basketball players each put a gold medal in the coach Gregg Popovich at the ceremony of male basketball medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games on Saturday August 7, 2021 in Tokyo. (AP photo / Eric Gay)
“The extraordinary impact of pop coach on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the Game of Basketball is deep,” said Spurs director of Spurs, Peter J. Holt, in a press release. “His distinctions and prices do not do justice to the impact he had on so many people. He is really unique as a person, leader and coach. Our family, alongside fans of the world, is grateful for his remarkable 29-year-old race as a chief trainer of the San Antonio Spurs.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has a medical emergency while recovering from a stroke: report
Popovich missed all the matches except five last season after undergoing a stroke at the team arena on November 2. Deputy coach Mitch Johnson took over. The 76 -year -old coach did not speak publicly since the incident, but addressed the team in February where he said that he hoped that he could “return to training in the future”.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, looks in the second half of their NBA basketball game in the regular season against the Phoenix Suns in Mexico City on Saturday, December 14, 2019. (APO photo / Rebecca Blackwell, file)
However, last month, Popovich would have undergone a medical incident during its catering in a restaurant.
Popovich will remain with the Spurs as president of the team, a role he has occupied since 1994. In 1996, he dismissed Bob Hill and appointed coach – a title he also occupied for 29 seasons.
