Gregg Popovich could keep coaching beyond 2021-22 season

Gregg Popovich may be feeling rejuvenated after his successful summer coaching Team USA at the Olympics.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported on Wednesday that while no one is sure if the San Antonio Spurs head coach will stay beyond this season, several sources who know Popovich say that it would not surprise them if he returned for the 2022-23 campaign as well. Lowe adds that Popovich is 26 wins away from Don Nelson’s all-time record for most wins by an NBA coach but that Popovich will not be “running out the string” just to break it.

Popovich is now 72 years old and is about to enter his 27th season as coach of the Spurs. He served as the head coach for USA Basketball at the Tokyo Games this past summer and helped the Americans bring home the gold medal.

The three-time Coach of the Year has been taking a season-to-season approach to his coaching future in recent years. If he does decide to stick around beyond the upcoming campaign, Popovich is under contract for the 2022-23 season. The Spurs do not really have a pathway to short-term contention, especially after the recent departures of both DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Still, it would definitely be nice to see Popovich continue to coach, even just for him to dunk on more reporters.