On Friday, the San Antonio Spurs announced that Greg Popovich would no longer coach the team and was transitioning to a full-time position as president of the basketball business.
Popovich, 76, ended his coaching tenure as the league's all-time victory leader and had a 1,422 season regular season victory and five championships and an NBA record of three coaches of the year awards. Enter Mitch Johnson, who was appointed acting head coach after a mild stroke in November, will now take over coaching duties permanently.
After the Spurs and Popovich’s decision, we asked our NBA insiders big questions, including how to do that, the next step in the franchise and the role Johnson brings, as San Antonio seems to open a newbie who was headed by budding superstar Victor Wembanyama, guard Victor Wembanyama, guard Guard De'aaron Fox, new Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel Metel
1. How did Spurs and pop make this decision?
The Spurs were determined and Popovich won the right to decide when to leave. Popovich insists that he will only come back if he feels he can do his job well. He still has a desire to coach and he has been in recent years working with young players eager to learn.
But in the end, Popovich decided that he needed to be supportive with Mitch Johnson, who loved him so much and was his successor.
- - Ramona Shelburne
2. What do people in the league say about the action of pop music?
There is liberation and clarity. Popovich has certainly continued to be coaching for the past few months, which is why he announced that he would not be back in the middle of the season. There is no claim about his future. But he is an NBA royal family and is worried about the health of the legendary coach. Popovich's health has become even more worried after the recent incident requires a trip to the hospital.
The Spurs left a great place in Popovich. He won five titles on the sideline, but arguably one of his greatest achievements was leaving the position with a clean contingency plan.
"He has suffered a lot in the past few years, and it's a very selfless move," an experienced league executive told ESPN. "The team is ready. Unfortunately for him, he won't be on the court for that, but the next generation of teams has his fingerprints on the fingerprint."
In addition to being willing to take the toughest measures to rebuild in the last few years of work, Popovich also helps create and maintain a well-known culture. Over the years, many organizations have tried to replicate it by raiding Popovich's front desk and coaching staff. This culture will take place long after he leaves the position.
He also helped train the replacements as Mitch Johnson steadily took more responsibility on the bench. Even before Johnson was appointed as acting head coach, it was not uncommon for Popovich to have him develop a field strategy in the huddles. Over the years, many assistants have been seen as some uncertain "head coach" in San Antonio. This is because Popovich believes in developing assistants like he develops young players and develops those who he feels have high potential.
If the work was open and never had everything handled cleanly because the Spurs had clean and tidy, it would be considered one of the best businesses in the league. Once news comes that Popovich is about to quit his coaching resignation, but he continues to serve as president, the league knows that Johnson will likely be a draft pick. Sometimes there is something wrong with keeping a family in the NBA. In San Antonio, it's a secret sauce.
Popovich has always valued it and protected it. The league knew he was passing.
- Brian Windhorst
3. Who is Mitch Johnson and why did the Spurs give him a full-time job?
New Orleans Pelicans point guard Dejounte Murray repeatedly told ESPN that Johnson saved his teenage life by bailing him to rescue him from prison and taking him into a strict academic and basketball program that helped the 28-year-old college graduate and the NBA. So when the Spurs began scrutinizing Murray (2016) during the draft, Johnson quickly caught the attention of the organization's guidance and communication acumen and brought him to the assistant of the club's G-League branch, Austin Spurs.
"When we were 15 years old, when he came, he let me leave the teenager, 'We were together.' "Like we were going to put all this damn job, we were going to see where the work took us." So even if we get into the league, we never know what all of these things will happen or what will happen. But, like, we both put the work in. The rest will be history. ”
Johnson has grown rapidly in the organization and has served as an assistant to Popovich for the past six seasons, including five years on the bench after his promotion in 2020.
Mitch Johnson is the son of former two NBA All-Star and 1979 champion John "JJ" Johnson, an accomplished player in high school (he averaged 22 points and 8 assists at Stanford in two state championships at Audi High School in Seattle) and college, and at Stanford, he was Brook Lopez, Brook Lopez, Brok Lopez, Robin Lopez and Robin Lopez and Landerry lopez, where he was a four-year starter. Brook Lopez told ESPN that in college, they used Johnson as the “master” because of “the way he performed and the way he held the show.”
"It's not shocking to see where he is now. He belongs there," Lopez added. "(He) is a smart basketball player and the highest basketball IQ I've ever played or ever had with."
In the Spurs organization, Johnson impressed Popovich, the way Spurs CEO RC Buford and GM Brian Wright followed Popovich's stroke and club-slapped champion Victor Wembanyama had blood clot problems on his shoulders, so he navigated a turbulent season in a turbulent season. Johnson never wavered in adverse circumstances during his week-long trip to New York and Paris, let alone Los Angeles during the wildfires. Johnson is responsible for taking responsibility.
His words always resonate in the locker room. San Antonio players always compete for Johnson and did not attract attention among the franchise’s decision makers.
“I believe in this organization,” Weimanbama said. "I also believe Mitch is in this role. I think we support each other throughout the organization."
- Michael C. Wright
4. What will it look like in San Antonio during the offseason?
On the Spurs to-do list, getting clarity in the head coach is a top priority.
The focus now shifts to the lottery. The Spurs not only have their own first-round draft pick, but also their first-round draft pick in Atlanta. (San Antonio has a 6% chance to move from No. 8 to the top, while Atlanta’s 0.7%.) As for the roster, 10 players are on contract, led by Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle’s new driver of the year.
If players like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo can be used this summer (such as Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo), then the De'aaron Fox trade still keeps San Antonio holding another big swing. The Spurs have the right to swap with Atlanta next year before gaining an unprotected first-round draft pick for the Hawks in 2027. They have a total of 6 first games over the next eight years, years of draft pick swaps and 17 seconds. They also own a large number of contracts from Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson.
One date on the Spurs calendar is August 3. This is the first day Fox can sign the highest extension of $229 million in four-year system. And keep an eye on Chris Paul's future. After signing a one-year deal last offseason, Paul played all 82 games for the second time in his career and will be in free agency.
- Bobby Marks
5. What are your expectations for San Antonio next season?
The 2026 playoffs is a reasonable expectation, and it may be disappointing to not fall behind in the playoffs. The Spurs played 21-25 in 46 games at Wembanyama this season, with only five of them playing side by side with San Antonio's blockbuster mid-term trade and Webmanyama, which is far from deep vein thrombosis.
The slow Wembanyama development has allowed the Spurs to add castles to their fourth pick in June last year and this year’s lottery picks, but with the arrival of Fox and Future Picks San Antonio, which has been stocked, and it’s time to start getting these young players to experience in high-intensity gaming.
Only Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Dwight Howard and LeBron James were selected for the All-NBA before 21.5, which is the minimum that Wembanyama has been hit by the absence. All of these players made their debut in the league's third season, with Howard and James breaking in their third year.
The biggest obstacle for the Spurs to enter the playoffs is the loading Western Conference, with no playoff teams winning less than 48 games this season. There are no obvious contenders to knock out the playoffs, but that was the case last season, with the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies managing to break into the top eight, with the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns falling out unexpectedly.
At least, San Antonio should be able to break the game for the first time since 2022. The Spurs had the chance to claim the 10th seed of the season if Vemanbania stayed healthy. However, the goal should be to make the top six in the West, which is San Antonio’s last game in 2019 – it’s worth noting that the NBA is the second-longest active playoff drought after the low-slung Charlotte Hornets.
- Kevin Pelton