Courtesy: X
It has been revealed that the San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich, suffered a mild stroke on November 2 just before their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the AT&T Center after it was initially mentioned he had an undisclosed health issue. The 75-year-old is in high spirits after undergoing treatment in the last couple of weeks, and in his message to the Spurs players, he told them to focus on their game while being optimistic about making a full recovery.
The special message from Gregg Popovich lifted the spirits of the San Antonio Spurs players in their last game, who defeated the Washington Wizards 139-130 at home after Victor Wembanyama scored a career-high 50 points on the night. After the big win, Wembanyama remarked that even though Popovich wasn’t in the dugout right now, he and his teammates needed to justify what the coach is trying to teach us all this time.
I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me: Gregg Popovich
In his emotional note to the Spurs players and interim coach Mitch Johnson prior to their recent outing at the AT&T Center against the Washington Wizards, Gregg Popovich was quoted as saying, as per Times of India, “Don’t worry about me, focus on the task at hand here in San Antonio. That’s to win and try to compete and when I’m back, I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me.”
As per the official statement from the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich is currently under a rehabilitation program with a belief about him making a full recovery sooner rather than later, but they didn’t divulge on the aftereffects of the stroke on him. The general manager of Spurs, Brian Wright, said, “It’s a difficult time for everyone. Coach Pop has been the leader of this organisation for the last three decades.”
“We all have come across or know people that just have a different aura, a difference presence about them. Clearly, he’s one of those people. When we walk into the building each and every day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence and so not having him there’s clearly a void. And we miss him,” Brian Wright further added.
