The legendary San Antonio coach now joins other Spurs icons’ names at Frost Bank Center.
SAN ANTONIO — With no pomp and circumstance, no official notice, former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich’s name now hangs in the rafters at the Frost Bank Center.
Fans arriving to Sunday’s home opener against the Brooklyn Nets were among the first to see the new banner, hung quietly—a manner befitting the legendary coach who, aside from the viral news conference soundbite, often let the team’s on-court success speak for itself.
Popovich’s banner features his colloquial nickname – “Pop” – with a Hall of Fame note and his total wins: 1,390.
And, appropriately, his banner hangs next to the trio of players he guided to five NBA titles – Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan – and other Spurs legends.
Popovich retired from coaching after suffering a mild stroke early last season. There were thoughts he could recover and return to coaching, but in May the team announced he was handing over the reins to assistant coach Mitch Johnson, who was promoted to full-time head coach.
Popovich did not retire completely. He moved into the executive staff as president of basketball operations or “El Jefe,” as he said during Johnson’s introductory press conference.
Pop served as the Spurs’ head coach for 29 years.
“I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff, and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community, and city that are so meaningful to me,” Popovich said.
In his first 22 seasons as coach, the Spurs had 22 winning seasons, the first 20 of which saw the Silver & Black winning at least 60% of their games.