The NBA playoffs took a backseat on Friday. After announcing his coaching retirement, Gregg Popovich received the sports world’s attention. The San Antonio Spurs will have a new head coach for the first time since 1996. Mitch Johnson was promoted from the interim to official coach.
Popovich will transition to a front office role. He missed most of the 2024-25 season after he sustained a mild stroke in November 2024. While the 76-year-old hanging up the clipboard wasn’t shocking, it did mark the end of an era for the NBA.
The five-time NBA champion is regarded as one of the best coaches in league history. He helped shepherd the Spurs’ dynasty, which was headlined by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard.
Considering the strong ties between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Spurs, Mark Daigneault spoke highly of Popovich’s retirement and what he did for basketball. He was a pioneer in the international talent scene. The Spurs were notorious for developing overseas talent.
“I just think there’s certain people at different points in time that change the game and change the league. From a coaching standpoint, he’s certainly one of them,” Daigneault said. “Stylistically, the way they embraced international basketball happened at a time when the international influence on the NBA exploded. They were kinda the forefront of that and had success doing that.”
The NBA is viewed as a copycat league. There’s no better example of that than the Spurs. Look at any NBA team’s front office or coaching staff over the last two decades, there would surely be a branch that stems back to San Antonio.
“The last thing I would say is just looking around the league now, almost every organization has a Spurs influence. No more than us. But the way that program and organization kinda spawned off into,” Daigneault said. “They’ve literally changed the league. He’s changed the league.”
The Spurs now embrace a new reality where Popovich is no longer the head coach. They hope Victor Wembanyama and Johnson can be their next coach-star tandem that brings them back to title contention. No other NBA franchise understands the importance of that type of synergy than them.
Mark Daigneault on Gregg Popovich’s retirement: pic.twitter.com/QwPrqjPK0c
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 2, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault reflects on Gregg Popovich’s legacy after retirement
The NBA playoffs took a backseat on Friday. After announcing his coaching retirement, Gregg Popovich received the sports world’s attention. The San Antonio Spurs will have a new head coach for the first time since 1996. Mitch Johnson was promoted from the interim to official coach.
Popovich will transition to a front office role. He missed most of the 2024-25 season after he sustained a mild stroke in November 2024. While the 76-year-old hanging up the clipboard wasn’t shocking, it did mark the end of an era for the NBA.
The five-time NBA champion is regarded as one of the best coaches in league history. He helped shepherd the Spurs’ dynasty, which was headlined by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard.
Considering the strong ties between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Spurs, Mark Daigneault spoke highly of Popovich’s retirement and what he did for basketball. He was a pioneer in the international talent scene. The Spurs were notorious for developing overseas talent.
“I just think there’s certain people at different points in time that change the game and change the league. From a coaching standpoint, he’s certainly one of them,” Daigneault said. “Stylistically, the way they embraced international basketball happened at a time when the international influence on the NBA exploded. They were kinda the forefront of that and had success doing that.”
The NBA is viewed as a copycat league. There’s no better example of that than the Spurs. Look at any NBA team’s front office or coaching staff over the last two decades, there would surely be a branch that stems back to San Antonio.
“The last thing I would say is just looking around the league now, almost every organization has a Spurs influence. No more than us. But the way that program and organization kinda spawned off into,” Daigneault said. “They’ve literally changed the league. He’s changed the league.”
The Spurs now embrace a new reality where Popovich is no longer the head coach. They hope Victor Wembanyama and Johnson can be their next coach-star tandem that brings them back to title contention. No other NBA franchise understands the importance of that type of synergy than them.
Mark Daigneault on Gregg Popovich’s retirement: pic.twitter.com/QwPrqjPK0c
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 2, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault reflects on Gregg Popovich’s legacy after retirement
