City Council Member Proposes Naming San Antonio Airport After Spurs' Gregg Popovich
A member of San Antonio's city council submitted a proposal this week for the city's airport to be renamed in honor of longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.
Council member Manny Pelaez filed the request with city clerk Debbie Racca-Sittre, citing the "immeasurable" impact Popovich has had on the city of San Antonio:
Popovich, 76, announced his retirement from coaching earlier this month after suffering a stroke in November. He was subsequently named the Spurs' new president of basketball operations.
Pop served as the Spurs' head coach for 29 seasons, posting a 1,422-869 record, reaching the NBA Finals six times and winning five championships.
Under Popovich's guidance, the Spurs made 22 consecutive playoff appearances from 1998 to 2019, which is the all-time NBA record.
Popovich is the winningest regular-season coach in NBA history, and his 170 playoff wins are third on the all-time list behind only Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.
His three NBA Coach of the Year Awards are tied with Riley and Don Nelson for the most of all time as well. Popovich also led the United States men's basketball team to a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Popovich's coaching retirement marks the end of an era, but he still has a chance to be part of something special in San Antonio moving forward with his move to the front office.
San Antonio will return a core of Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle next season. The Spurs also own the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, which they could use on Rutgers guard Dylan Harper or perhaps trade to bring in another superstar.
That suggests there could be even more championships in Popovich's future, adding to a legacy that is already strong enough to garner consideration for an airport to be named after him.
