It’s the end of an era for the San Antonio Spurs and the entire NBA.
The team announced Friday, May 2, that Gregg Popovich is stepping down as coach after 28-plus seasons in that position and transitioning to the role of president of basketball operations. Popovich missed most of the 2024-25 NBA season after suffering a stroke on Nov. 2. Mitch Johnson, who served as interim head coach as the Spurs finished with a 34-48 record, has been promoted to be Popovich’s permanent replacement as coach.
Though Popovich will remain a crucial part of the franchise, the decision to work exclusively in the front office will deprive the NBA of a Hall of Fame coach and make one of the league’s fascinating characters less visible than he has been over the past four decades. Popovich could be prickly or playful with a microphone in front of him, but his quick wit often made his sideline interviews, news conferences and public interactions as entertaining as the games themselves.
Here’s a look at some of Popovich’s memorable moments and quotes over his 30-year career with the San Antonio Spurs:
Gregg Popovich’s best quotes as Spurs coach
‘Nobody’s happy.’
The yin and yang of Popovich’s persona is probably best on display during his in-game sideline interviews, which became much-anticipated events over the course of his career because of how much he seemingly despised doing them. It often led to terse exchanges and answers that lasted but a few words.
Sometimes, he could be downright ornery. Even then, though, they were enthralling. Like when former TNT reporter David Aldridge asked Popovich if he was happy with his team’s shot selectionduringa game in 2012.
‘Happy? Happy’s not a word that we think about in a game. Think of something different. Happy? I don’t know how to judge happy. We’re in the middle of a contest. Nobody’s happy.’
‘This is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview.’
Popovich’s most notable sideline interviews usually occurred with late TNT reporter Craig Sager, whose colorful outfits were the subject of lighthearted banter (‘How can you be that professional in a suit that looks like that?’)
But Popovich was at his heartwarming best once Sager, who died in 2016, was diagnosed with leukemia. It led to a memorable exchange between the two when Sager returned to the sidelines in December 2015 for a game.
‘I got to honestly tell you this is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview we’re required to do. It’s because you’re here and you’re back with us. Welcome back, baby. … Now ask me a couple of inane questions.’
‘I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I’m not done.’
Popovich was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 and his induction speech featured his greatest Spurs players — David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker — seated on stage behind him. At one point, when he went to shake their hands, emcee Ahmad Rashad thought that was the end of Popovich’s speech. Only it wasn’t, and Popovich reacted by shooing Rashad off stage.
‘I want some nasty!’
Popovich had colorful quotes and a sometimes-tough disposition with reporters. His players saw those sides of him, too. A Popovich classic is this line, captured by TNT during a Spurs timeout during a 2012 NBA playoffs series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
‘He’s pathetic. He’s small. He’s a whiner. … He’s a damaged man.’
Popovich has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party since Trump first took office in 2016, and used many of his regular interactions with reporters during the NBA season to express his political views. That included a Spurs news conference about a week before he suffered a stroke on Nov. 2, in which he spoke out against Trump for more than two minutes ahead of the 2024 Presidential election.