Gregg Popovich missed most of the 2024-25 NBA season while recovering from a stroke. (Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
(Tyler Kaufman via Getty Images)
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reportedly experienced a medical incident at a restaurant Tuesday, though he’s now stable and recovering at home.
Popovich, according to an incident report obtained by the San Antonio Express-News, was eating at a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse when he fainted on Tuesday night. He was transported to a local hospital in an ambulance with a non-life threatening illness or injury as a precaution.
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Further specifics are not yet known.
Popovich, 76, coached just five games for the Spurs during the 2024-25 NBA season before suffering a mild stroke. He then missed the rest of the season due to the medical episode. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson served as the team’s interim head coach during Popovich’s absence. The Spurs finished 34-48 and failed to make the playoffs, but theylost sensation Victor Wembanyama in late February due to deep vein thrombosis.
Reports suggested Popovich made progress throughout the season and was healthy enough to address the team in person after the All-Star break. As the regular season came to a close, the Spurs were reportedly going to let Popovich decide if he wanted to return to coach the team next season. In a February statement, Popovich said he was going to “focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future.”
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Popovich has been the team’s head coach since the 1996-97 NBA season. He’s led the team to five NBA championships and is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time.
“I trust the organization,” Wembanyama said in February, via the Express-News. “I trust Pop to do all he can to come back, to get his energy back. And I also trust Mitch to grow into that role. So, I think we are in good hands … I’m ready for anything and In know the organization will do good decisions.”