Gregg Popovich looks frail in a rare public appearance

Gregg Popovich made a rare public appearance this week but still appears to be very much in recovery.

The legendary former San Antonio Spurs head coach Popovich attended an NBA G League game on Friday. It was a game between the Austin Spurs (San Antonio’s G League affiliate) and the Capital City Go-Go at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in Cedar Park, Tex.

Video went viral from the game of Popovich walking off the court while being aided by two other individuals. Popovich waved to the crowd and also stopped at one point to pose for pictures with two young children. But Popovich was using a specialized cane to help him walk and appeared to be slow on his feet.

You can see the video at the link here.

Now 76 years old, Popovich coached the Spurs from 1996-2025. That included five NBA championships, three NBA Coach of the Year Awards, and the most wins by a head coach in league history (1,390).

But Popovich finally had to step down from his position last year after suffering a sudden stroke in Nov. 2024. He also later suffered a separate medical emergency while dining at a restaurant in April of last year.

By May, Popovich formally announced that he was retiring as head coach of the Spurs and transitioning into a leadership role in the team’s front office (with former assistant Mitch Johnson taking over as San Antonio’s new full-time head coach).

Popovich was looking a little bit better several months ago in a video of him attending Spurs practice. While he was also feeling well enough this week to attend an Austin Spurs game, Popovich is (understandably) still recovering from his health challenges of the last 15 months.