Social media watchers or those in attendance for the Spurs’ home opener against the Brooklyn Nets may have noticed a difference in the Frost Bank Center on Sunday afternoon, and that would be an extra
banner hanging among the retired jerseys. In typical fashion, without much pomp and circumstance, the Spurs found a way to honor their former head coach Gregg Popovich without him having to make an appearance.
Hanging next to legends like The Big Three, The Admiral and several of his other former players is a while banner that says “Pop”, 1,390 (his win total), five stars for five championships, and “Hall of Fame” in honor of his induction into the highest club in the sport of basketball.
Despite being the winningest coach in NBA history, Pop was still enjoying the job and found new satisfaction in coaching and building up young players not just on the court, but in life as well. Unfortunately, his career came to an abrupt end after he suffered a stroke ahead of the fifth game of the 2024-25 season, and he retired after the season was over, passing the job onto his protege Mitch Johnson, who was given the 32-45 record for the 77 games he coached last season.
Odds are this is all we’ll hear about the honor considering Pop isn’t one who wants to be celebrated or have to make appearances, but he will live on in Spurs, NBA and basketball history for all eternity.
