Gregg Popovich's Iconic Career Celebrated by NBA Fans After Stepping Down as Spurs HC

NBA fans are celebrating Gregg Popovich after the San Antonio Spurs announced Friday that the league's all-time coaching wins leader is stepping down as head coach.

Popovich led the Spurs to 1,422 regular-season wins and five NBA titles through 29 seasons with the team.

Popovich, 76, stepped away from coaching after suffering a stroke in November. He will now transition into a new role as team president, according to the Spurs.

He will complete his NBA head coaching career with a regular-season record of 1422-869 (.621 win percentage) and playoff record of 170-114 (.599 win percentage.)

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach," Popovich said in a statement.

Popovich first joined the Spurs as an assistant coach to Larry Brown in 1988. He later took over the head coaching role in December 1996.

Popovich led the Spurs to a 17-47 record in his first stretch of head coach, setting up the franchise to draft Tim Duncan with the top pick in the 1997 draft.

He went on to lead the Spurs to at least 50 wins in 19 out of the team's 20 following campaigns, coaching the franchise's Big Three of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili to titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

The Spurs tied an NBA playoff record during that span by making the playoffs in 22 straight seasons between 1998 and 2019.

In his last full season as Spurs head coach, Popovich coached Victor Wembanyama as the phenom led the NBA in blocks and claimed Rookie of the Year honors.

Popovich also served on the Team USA coaching staff six times, capping off his international career by leading the men's basketball team to gold during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.