The frank and honest smiles at the Frost Bank Center gave way to deep concern about the situation of Gregg Popovich (75 years old). The faces of everyone, from the venue staff, to the fans and local journalists, were a little more marked than usual. Because the boss of the Spurs, who missed a seventh game in a row against Washington, is wanted.
After more than ten days of silence, the Spurs, one of the most secret franchises in the league, finally communicated, a few hours before the match against the Wizards, confirming that Gregg Popovich had made “a slight stroke on November 2” (the day of the match against Wolves), and that he “had already started treatment”without giving much more detail.
His back-to-back absences in 2012 and 2016 or that in 2018 during the playoffs following the death of his wife Erin were different. This time, the confirmation by the Spurs of information given by ESPN a few days earlier, plunged San Antonio into doubt, into fear, very real but that no one dares to imagine, that Coach Pop' – the coach the most victorious in the Great League in the regular season – no longer coaches the Spurs.
To pay tribute to him in their own way, several Spurs fans wore a t-shirt bearing the image of the legendary Spurs coach. “Praying for you Popovich (“Prayers for you, Popovich” in French) »could we still read on a sign of a young couple. “He’s like a spiritual father for us, he’s the soul of the city”admits Sonia Ramirez, 33, with a tight throat and a heavy heart. “San Antonio owes him everything but today he has to take care of himself and is undoubtedly leading one of the most important matches of his life”.
“The period we are going through is difficult for everyone”
Because Gregg Popovich, prophet in his country, is used to victories. He put San Antonio on the world map thanks to his Spurs, whom he first joined as an assistant to Larry Brown in 1988 before taking the reins in December 1996. Thus leading the Spurs towards five NBA championship titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) and making one of the most victorious teams in any sport over the last three decades.
“The period we are going through is difficult for everyone”said GM Brian Wright before the game against the Wizards. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for almost thirty years. We have all met or know people who simply have a different aura, a different presence, and it is clear that he is one of those people. When we enter here, we feel his leadership and this presence every day. So without him, there is clearly a void and we miss him”.
Because “Coach Pop” is not just a coach, he is also a bit of a second grandfather, faithful but tough in business. He is as concerned about the well-being of players and their families as he is about their sporting performance. He does not hesitate to put things into perspective because for him, basketball was secondary to the worries of everyday life and the ills of society, the election of Donald Trump, as the 47th president of the United States, in the first place.
“The players are coming out of this situation well but that doesn’t mean that this moment wasn’t difficult for them to live through”would like to clarify Brian Wright. “I'm not sure there is another person, in any structure, not even in sports, who means as much as Pop to us. He is much more than a coach. He talks about more than basketball, he talks about life too, and the guys feel it. It’s important for their development, especially for a young group like ours. »
For at least a decade, people have asked him about his potential retirement, a topic of conversation that sometimes intrigues and often irritates him. Because the incessant pace of the NBA, of its 82 regular season games and its too many back-to-backs, wears us out. “ I prefer to concentrate on the next training session because I have no idea what I will do in five years”he had, for example, declared in March during one of the two meetings relocated to Austin.
Extended for five years with the Spurs in July 2023 just after the “Wemby” draft, Gregg Popovich seemed re-motivated by the Victor Wembanyama challenge after years of eating his black bread, with five seasons in a row without playoffs, while he had led the Spurs to the NBA finals for twenty-two years in a row, between 1998 and 2019 (a record).
“We are all worried but I know what state of mind he is in”
Today, Gregg Popovich is certainly not thinking about the moment when he will lift another trophy but perhaps, at least, when he will play a playoff or play-in match with “Wemby” and company. “It’s horrible what I’m going to say but I repeat it often: for me, Gregg Popovich will die as Spurs coach”says a fan with a Victor Wembanyama jersey pinned to his body.
The players say they learned of Gregg Popovich's stroke this Wednesday morning. “ We are all worried but I know what state of mind he is in. He is working to get back with us as quickly as possible. I believe in him and I hope he won't be too far from us for too long.”, declared “Wemby” after his 50 points.
More than the XXL performance of his young foal, it is the sixth success in twelve matches that “Coach Pop” would have celebrated around a good team meal. And of course, with a bottle of wine (but in moderation of course!). A good Bordeaux or a Burgundy, it’s your choice…
From our correspondent in San Antonio (United States).
