Report: Spurs' Gregg Popovich Unlikely to Return for Rest of NBA Season; Future TBD

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return to the NBA this season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Popovich has not coached since suffering a stroke in November. His “future is uncertain as he recovers,” according to Charania.

Charania added during an appearance on ESPN's NBA Countdown that Popovich is getting "stronger and stronger" in his rehab.

The news comes two days after the Spurs announced Victor Wembanyama would miss the rest of the 2024-25 regular season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. 

Popovich, 76, suffered what the Spurs described as a “mild stroke” about two and a half hours before a Nov. 2 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He did not coach the game and has not re-joined the team since.

The incident occurred at the Timberwolves’ arena, and Popovich “was able to start receiving treatment almost immediately” before his transportation to a nearby hospital, per Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press.

In Popovich’s first statement since the stroke, which was shared by the team on Dec. 16, he hinted at an interest in a future return to coaching. 

“No one is more excited to see me return to the bench than the talented individuals who have been leading my rehabilitation process,” Popovich wrote in December.

Spurs CEO R.C. Buford provided another update on Jan. 22, when he said Popovich was “attacking his rehab” and that “his improvement continues.”

Buford noted then that there was not yet a timeline for Popovich’s return, and that his comeback would depend on how his rehab progressed. 

Popovich, who has served as the Spurs’ head coach since December 1996, signalled his intention to stick around with the organization by signing a five-year extension in 2023. His 1,412 regular-season victories with San Antonio already make him the winningest coach in NBA history.

Mitch Johnson, who joined the organization in 2016 and has worked under Popovich since 2019, is serving as the Spurs’ interim head coach in his absence.