The San Antonio Spurs organization will never be the same after May 2. On Friday, the Spurs announced that legendary head coach Gregg Popovich is set to step down as the team’s head coach. “Pop” will transition to the new role of President of Basketball Operations for the organization, so he isn’t going anywhere just yet. But he won’t be on the sidelines like he was for the past 29 seasons.
Popovich’s resume speaks for itself. He captured five NBA Championships for the franchise, the only five rings in Spurs history. Along the way, he coached some of the best players the NBA has seen in recent history. He molded Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and more. But perhaps the most talented player he coached, he could only do so for two seasons. Drafted in 2023, Victor Wembanyama would have loved to have Pop by his side for longer, but the Frenchman is well on his way to setting records.
Wemby’s emotional farewell messages to Gregg Popovich
Despite the two spending just two seasons together, Popovich clearly left an indelible mark on Wemby. The 21-year-old posted two farewell messages for Popovich: one on X and one on Instagram.
The messages were slightly different, but the general theme was similar. Popovich’s personality seems to be what has stuck with Wembanyama the most. Wemby was kind and humble before he even enter the NBA, but he has taken some of it from Popovich as well.
Read the full article here
