For the first time in six months, the NBA trainer icon Gregg Popovich is publicly expressed.
Flanked by his former protégés Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich stepped in front of the cameras, took off his training jacket and presented his new black T-shirt. “El Jefe” was in large white letters, Spanish for “Der Boss”. “I have a new job. I am no longer a coach, I’m El Jefe,” said Popovich, famous for his great humor, on the microphone and was laughing.
On Friday, the coache icon retired after 29 years at the San Antonio Spurs due to major health problems, Popovich will work as team president at the club from the basketball profile NBA in the future. Directed by the 76-year-old, the team won all of his five NBA titles, now the era is over, his previous assistant Mitch Johnson takes over the post.
Popovich restricted after stroke
“It will be better every day, but that is not enough for our future plans,” said Popovich, who spoke publicly for the first time since a stroke suffered in November, about his state of health: “So it’s time for a change.”
On the way back, Duncan and Ginobili had helped him a lot. “Timmy and Manu were here for all my training sessions,” said Coach Pop. “They say they love me, want to be there for me and catch me if I fall. They give rehabilitation people new ideas what they can do with me.”
Popovich visibly had problems moving on the small stage and was very slow. This is how Duncan and Ginobili supported him.
Popovich has been the head of the head coach since 1996, no other coach stayed with an NBA team for so long. He led San Antonio 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 to the title, with 1412 victories in the main round and 170 victories in the play-offs in the eternal list of the NBA trainers. With the USA, Popovich celebrated the gold medal as a national coach at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021.