.jpg) Popovich speaking at theWhite House in 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | President of basketball operations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1949-01-28)January 28, 1949 (age 76) East Chicago, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Merrillville (Merrillville, Indiana) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Air Force (1966–1970) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Guard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1973–2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1979 | Air Force (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1986 | Pomona-Pitzer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Kansas (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Pomona-Pitzer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1992 | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2025 | San Antonio Spurs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As head coach:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA | 1,390–824 (.628) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Record atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949)[1] is an American professionalbasketball executive and former coach who is the president for theSan Antonio Spurs of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He was thehead coach of the Spurs for 29 seasons from 1996 to 2025, during which he won five NBA championships, and was the longest tenured active coach in the NBA as well as all othermajor sports leagues in the United States. He has been a member of the Spurs organization since 1994, originally as president of basketball operations and general manager, before taking over as coach in 1996. Nicknamed "Coach Pop", Popovich has the most wins of any coach in NBA history,[2][3] and is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time.[4][5]
Popovich led the Spurs to a winning record in each of his first 22 full seasons as head coach, surpassingPhil Jackson for the most consecutive winning seasons in NBA history. During his tenure, the Spurs have had a winning record against every other NBA team. Popovich has been a key figure in the sustained success of the Spurs in the 1990s, the 2000s, and most of the 2010s.[6] Popovich has led the Spurs to all five of their NBA titles, and is one of only five coaches in NBA history to have won five titles. He was also the head coach of theU.S. national team at the2020 Summer Olympics, leading the team to a gold medal. In 2023, Popovich was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[7]
After 29 seasons as head coach of the Spurs, Popovich stepped down in 2025 and transitioned into a front office role as the team's president of basketball operations.
Popovich was born on January 28, 1949, inEast Chicago, Indiana, to aSerbian father andCroatian mother.[8][9][10] He graduated fromMerrillville High School in 1966.
Popovich attended theUnited States Air Force Academy. He played on the academy'sAir Force Falcons men's basketball team, and in his senior year was the team's captain and leading scorer.[11] He graduated from the Academy in 1970 with abachelor's degree inSoviet studies. Popovich underwent Air Force intelligence training and briefly considered a career with theCentral Intelligence Agency.[12][13][14]
Popovich served five years of required active duty in theUnited States Air Force, during which he touredEastern Europe and theSoviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces Basketball Team.[14] In 1972, he was selected as captain of the Armed Forces Team, which won theAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship.[15] This earned the 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m)guard an invitation to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team trials.[16]
In 1973, Popovich returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach under the school's head basketball coachHank Egan. Egan later became an assistant coach under Popovich for theSan Antonio Spurs. During his time as an assistant coach at the Academy, Popovich earned amaster's degree inphysical education and sports sciences from theUniversity of Denver.
In 1979, Popovich was named the head coach of thePomona-Pitzer Sagehens, the joint men's basketball team ofPomona College andPitzer College inClaremont, California. Popovich coached the Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball team from 1979 to 1988, leading the team to its first outright title in 68 years.[17]
During his time as head coach at Pomona-Pitzer, Popovich became a disciple and later a close friend of head coachLarry Brown atthe University of Kansas. Popovich took off the 1985–86 season at Pomona-Pitzer to become a volunteer assistant at Kansas, where he could study directly under Brown. Popovich returned to Pomona-Pitzer and resumed his duties as head coach the next season.
Following the 1987–88 season, Popovich joined Brown as the lead assistant coach for the Spurs. From 1988 to 1992, Popovich was Brown's top assistant, until the entire staff, includingR. C. Buford,Alvin Gentry andEd Manning, were fired by ownerRed McCombs. Popovich moved to theGolden State Warriors for a brief stint in 1992, serving as an assistant under futureHall of FamerDon Nelson and bringing with himAvery Johnson, who had been cut by the Spurs.
In 1994, Popovich returned to San Antonio as the general manager and vice president of basketball operations afterPeter Holt purchased the team. Popovich's first move was to sign Avery Johnson as the team's startingpoint guard. Another one of Popovich's early moves in San Antonio was to tradeDennis Rodman to theChicago Bulls forWill Perdue.[18]
After the Spurs had a 3–15 start in the 1996–97 season, withDavid Robinson sidelined with a preseason back injury, Popovich fired coachBob Hill on December 10, 1996, and named himself head coach.[19] Robinson then broke his foot after only six games and was lost for the season.Sean Elliott was also limited to 39 games due to injury, andChuck Person missed the entire season. With a reduced roster that included an agingDominique Wilkins, the Spurs struggled and won only 17 games for the remainder of the season for an overall record of 20–62. The Spurs' disastrous season allowed them the first overall pick in the1997 NBA draft, which they used to draftTim Duncan out ofWake Forest University.
The Spurs blossomed as the 6'11" Duncan teamed up with the 7'1" Robinson in a "Twin Tower" offense and defense for several years. After recovering to win 56 games in 1997–1998 (Popovich's first full year as coach), the Spurs won their first NBA title in1999.
In 2002, Popovich relinquished his position as general manager toR. C. Buford, who had served as the team's head scout. Popovich and Buford were both given their starts in the NBA in 1988 as assistants on Brown's coaching staff with the Spurs.
Popovich has won five championships with the Spurs—1999,2003,2005,2007 and2014. He was namedNBA Coach of the Year in 2003, 2012, and 2014.
On April 4, 2008, Popovich returned to the U.S. Air Force Academy to receive the academy's award of Distinguished Graduate. Despite his four NBA titles at the time, Popovich said it was the most meaningful award he had ever received.[20]
On May 2, 2012, Popovich won his second Coach of the Year Award for the2011–12 NBA season.[21]
On November 29, 2012, Popovich sat out starters Tim Duncan,Tony Parker,Manu Ginóbili, andDanny Green for a nationally televised game against theMiami Heat. Popovich frequently sat out his starters on road trips over the years to ensure they have enough rest for the playoffs; the Spurs' roster was among the oldest in the league. NBA commissionerDavid Stern was outraged by this and said on the night of the game that it was "unacceptable", and "substantial sanctions [would] be forthcoming".[22] On November 30, Stern fined the Spurs $250,000 for what he called "a disservice to the league and the fans". According to Stern, Popovich had not informed the Heat, the league or the media in a suitable time frame that the four players were not making the trip to Miami.[23] Stern's decision was criticized by commentatorAdrian Wojnarowski ofYahoo! Sports.[24]
Popovich led the Spurs to the2013 NBA Finals to face theMiami Heat. The series lasted seven games, but the Spurs had their first-ever Finals loss.
On April 22, 2014, Popovich was awarded theRed Auerbach Trophy as he won the NBA Coach of the Year for the third time.[25] He also won his fifth NBA championship with San Antonio that season, beating the Heat 4–1 in the Finals.
On February 9, 2015, Popovich became the ninth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games when the Spurs defeated theIndiana Pacers 95–93. He andJerry Sloan are the only two coaches in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one franchise.
On August 1, 2015, Popovich served as Team Africa's head coach at the2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.[26]
In the 2015–16 season, Popovich led the Spurs to a franchise-high 67 wins, but he and the team lost in the conference semifinals against theOklahoma City Thunder in six games.
On February 4, 2017, Popovich recorded his 1,128th regular season win with one franchise, surpassing Sloan.[27]
On April 13, 2019, Popovich surpassed Lenny Wilkens and became the all-time winningest coach in NBA history with his 1,413th win (regular season and playoffs combined).[28]
On January 26, 2020, the Spurs hosted theToronto Raptors just hours after aCalifornia helicopter crash claimed the lives of nine people, including NBA legendKobe Bryant and his 13–year-old daughter Gianna, and Popovich proposed that both teams take an intentional 24-second shot clock violation on each of their first possessions to pay homage to Bryant's jersey number 24, which he donned from 2006 to 2016. This violation tribute would subsequently be repeated at the beginning of nearly every game around the league over the rest of that day and the following days.[29]
On March 27, 2021, after leading his team to a 120–104 victory against the Chicago Bulls, Popovich won his 1,300th regular season game and became the third NBA coach to reach the milestone.[30]
On March 11, 2022, Popovich surpassedDon Nelson for most regular season wins of all time, notching his 1,336th regular season victory with the Spurs.[31] Popovich needed 370 fewer games than Nelson to achieve this record.[32]
On July 8, 2023, Popovich signed a five-year contract extension, keeping him with the franchise through the 2027–28 season.[33]
On November 2, 2024, Popovich suffered a stroke. Two days later, it was announced that he would take an indefinite leave of absence from the team, with assistantMitch Johnson stepping in as interim head coach.[34] In a meeting with Spurs players on February 27, 2025, Popovich confirmed that he would not coach the team for the remainder of the season.[35] The Spurs would post a 34–48 record, but with Popovich only coaching five games that season, the NBA later announced that they would adjust Popovich's career total by crediting the 32–45 record of the remaining 77 games to Johnson.[36]
On May 2, 2025, the Spurs announced that Popovich would step down as coach of the Spurs after 29 seasons and would transition to a new role as president of basketball operations.[37] Johnson was promoted to succeed Popovich as the Spurs head coach.[38]
Popovich served on the coaching staff for theU.S. men's national team during the2002 FIBA World Championship (assistingGeorge Karl),[39] during the 2003FIBA America Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and during theAthens 2004 Olympic Games (assistingLarry Brown), where theU.S. team won the bronze medal.
On October 23, 2015, Popovich was named the head coach of the U.S. men's national team, taking over fromMike Krzyzewski after theRio 2016 Olympic Games.[40]
At the2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the U.S. national team finished in seventh place, its worst finish ever in international competition.[41]
With Popovich serving as the head coach for the U.S. men's national team, he led the team to a gold medal at the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, going 5–1 and defeatingFrance 87–82 in the final.[42][43]
Popovich was married to Erin Popovich for 42 years until her death on April 18, 2018; the couple has two children.[44]
Popovich is a serious wine collector and an investor in Oregon's A to Z Wineworks.[45]
On November 2, 2024, Popovich had a stroke. He later took an indefinite leave from the Spurs to recover.[34]
On April 15, 2025, Popovich reportedly fainted at a restaurant before being taken to a hospital by ambulance. Within days, he had returned home.[46]
In 2020, a paper published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified the gene responsible fornectar spur growth inAquilegia (columbines). The researchers behind the paper agreed to name the genePOPOVICH because one of them, Evangeline Ballerini, wanted "to name it after Gregg Popovich, in part, because the gene plays a regulatory role in spur development, kind of like a coach controls the development of their team".[47]
On multiple occasions, Popovich has spoken out on behalf ofsocial justice issues. He expressed support for the2017 Women's March.[12] He also repeatedly criticized the behavior of U.S. PresidentDonald Trump during his first term in office.[48][49][50] Popovich endorsedJoe Biden in the2020 presidential election.[51]
Popovich has spent considerable time and money working with several charities and nonprofits such as the San Antonio Food Bank and the Innocence Project. He also took part in Shoes That Fit, an organization that aims to deliver shoes to more than 200 students at Gates Elementary School affected by HurricanesIrma andMaria.[52] Popovich is helping raise funds for J/P HRO, a disaster relief program that operates inHaiti, and various disaster relief organizations in the U.S. andCaribbean.[53]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | Air Force | 19 | .481 | .650 | 1.9 | 5.4 |
| 1969–70 | Air Force | 24 | .559 | .796 | 4.5 | 14.3 |
| Career | 43 | .540 | .754 | 3.4 | 10.3 | |
| Source:[54] | ||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens(Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1979–1986) | |||||||||
| 1979–80 | Pomona-Pitzer | 2–22 | 1–11 | 6th | |||||
| 1980–81 | Pomona-Pitzer | 10–15 | 3–9 | 6th | |||||
| 1981–82 | Pomona-Pitzer | 9–17 | 6–6 | ||||||
| 1982–83 | Pomona-Pitzer | 12–11 | 6–4 | ||||||
| 1983–84 | Pomona-Pitzer | 9–17 | 6–6 | ||||||
| 1984–85 | Pomona-Pitzer | 11–14 | 7–5 | ||||||
| 1985–86 | Pomona-Pitzer | 16–12 | 8–2 | 1st | NCAA D-III regional fourth place[55] | ||||
| Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens(Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1987–1988) | |||||||||
| 1987–88 | Pomona-Pitzer | 7–19 | 4–6 | ||||||
| Pomona-Pitzer: | 76–129 | 41–49 | |||||||
| Total: | 76–129 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| NBA record |
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | 1996–97 | 64 | 17 | 47 | .266 | 6th inMidwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 1997–98 | 82 | 56 | 26 | .683 | 2nd in Midwest | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 1998–99 | 50 | 37 | 13 | .740 | 1st in Midwest | 17 | 15 | 2 | .882 | WonNBA championship |
| San Antonio | 1999–00 | 82 | 53 | 29 | .646 | 2nd in Midwest | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2000–01 | 82 | 58 | 24 | .707 | 1st in Midwest | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | Lost inconference finals |
| San Antonio | 2001–02 | 82 | 58 | 24 | .707 | 1st in Midwest | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 2002–03 | 82 | 60 | 22 | .732 | 1st in Midwest | 24 | 16 | 8 | .667 | WonNBA championship |
| San Antonio | 2003–04 | 82 | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2nd in Midwest | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 2004–05 | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 1st inSouthwest | 23 | 16 | 7 | .696 | WonNBA championship |
| San Antonio | 2005–06 | 82 | 63 | 19 | .768 | 1st in Southwest | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 2006–07 | 82 | 58 | 24 | .707 | 2nd in Southwest | 20 | 16 | 4 | .800 | WonNBA championship |
| San Antonio | 2007–08 | 82 | 56 | 26 | .683 | 2nd in Southwest | 17 | 9 | 8 | .529 | Lost inconference finals |
| San Antonio | 2008–09 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 1st in Southwest | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2009–10 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 2nd in Southwest | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 2010–11 | 82 | 61 | 21 | .744 | 1st in Southwest | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2011–12 | 66 | 50 | 16 | .758 | 1st in Southwest | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | Lost inconference finals |
| San Antonio | 2012–13 | 82 | 58 | 24 | .707 | 1st in Southwest | 21 | 15 | 6 | .714 | Lost inNBA Finals |
| San Antonio | 2013–14 | 82 | 62 | 20 | .756 | 1st in Southwest | 23 | 16 | 7 | .696 | WonNBA championship |
| San Antonio | 2014–15 | 82 | 55 | 27 | .671 | 3rd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2015–16 | 82 | 67 | 15 | .817 | 1st in Southwest | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost inconference semifinals |
| San Antonio | 2016–17 | 82 | 61 | 21 | .744 | 1st in Southwest | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | Lost inconference finals |
| San Antonio | 2017–18 | 82 | 47 | 35 | .573 | 3rd in Southwest | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2018–19 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2nd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost infirst round |
| San Antonio | 2019–20 | 71 | 32 | 39 | .451 | 4th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 2020–21 | 72 | 33 | 39 | .458 | 3rd in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 2021–22 | 82 | 34 | 48 | .415 | 4th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 2022–23 | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 2023–24 | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| San Antonio | 2024–25 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 4th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 2,214 | 1,390 | 824 | .628 | 284 | 170 | 114 | .599 | |||
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Tournament | TG | TW | TL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2019 | 12 | 9 | 3 | .750 | World Cup | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 7th place |
| United States | 2021 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | Olympics | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 | Won gold medal |
| Career | 22 | 16 | 6 | .727 | 14 | 11 | 3 | .786 | |||
Source:[56]
Sometimes, you get the idea that Popovich is fighting a war within himself. "He's even got the Serbo-Croatian conflict going on", Buford said. "His mother was Croatian and his father was Serbian. That's the battle he faces internally."
...born in East Chicago, Ind., to a Serbian father and Croatian mother, ...
He considered other jobs, such as the CIA.
Popovich, whose degree is in Soviet studies, at one point considered working for the CIA.
It was a second-half rally that carried the Armed Forces to a 92-80 victory over the tiring disorganized Oilers.
