'Great level of concern' in Spurs camp regarding Popovich's health

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

'Great level of concern' in Spurs camp regarding Gregg Popovich's health

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Nov 7, 2024 8:50 AM ET

As Gregg Popovich remains sidelined with an undisclosed health issue, a new report highlights the concern within the Spurs camp regarding his status.

During Tuesday's edition of "NBA Today" on ESPN, Shams Charania said there's "a great level of concern" surrounding the situation.

"I’m told that it was a serious health issue that the Spurs dealt with and Gregg Popovich dealt with over the weekend," Charania said. "It was a situation on Saturday night pregame that Gregg Popovich needed medical attention in San Antonio. It is still uncertain when he's going to make it back on the floor, on the sidelines for this team. There is a great level of concern around the situation for the Spurs, for Gregg Popovich."

Popovich was replaced by his assistant, Mitch Johnson, as the interim coach for the game against the Timberwolves on Saturday. Johnson coached the team during Monday's loss to the Clippers and will again do so against the Rockets on Wednesday.

"There is a great level of concern around the situation."@ShamsCharania with the latest on Gregg Popovich being out indefinitely after suffering a health issue Saturday. pic.twitter.com/FXePQNlu1M
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 5, 2024

Elsewhere, longtime Spurs beat writer Mike Finger reported that, unlike some of Popovich's previous health-related absences, it wouldn't be wise to "take a quick return for granted" this time around.

Something we’ve tried to convey in our coverage of the Popovich story is that this is being handled quite differently from his previous one- and two-game absences.

Still much unknown, with Spurs keeping a very tight circle. Probably wise not to take a quick return for granted.
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) November 5, 2024

In his earlier reporting, Finger noted that interim coach Johnson checked in with Popovich via telephone on Sunday, but the players hadn't.

"Everyone sounded optimistic about a return, even if no one was willing or able to guess when that might be," he wrote.

ESPN's Michael C. Wright, another longtime Spurs beat writer, reported that Popovich is "at home and resting" and "is in good spirits," per interim coach Johnson.

"Obviously, the circumstances are unique," Johnson said of his conversation with Popovich on Sunday. "But as much continuity and familiarity we can have I think is what we're looking for. That's what we know Pop would want. He said he wants us to do it. We have talked and nothing changes."

Popovich, 75, was last sidelined with a health issue in Dec. 2022, leading to Brett Brown taking over for one game against the Lakers. Popovich's absence from the Spurs lasted only a few days.

Popovich remains the winningest coach in NBA history, with 1,391 wins in the regular season and 170 victories in the postseason. He led the Spurs to five NBA titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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