SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mitch Johnson provided a brief update Thursday on the health of head coach Gregg Popovich.
During the Spurs’ interview session before their game against the Portland Trailblazers, Johnson said Popovich was “doing good” but did not know when the 75-year-old would return to coaching.
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When asked about the team’s mood in Popovich’s absence, Johnson said, “We feel good about the (team’s) morale.”
Popovich has not been on the sidelines for the team’s last three games due to an undisclosed illness. Details of what happened to Popovich are not known.
Team officials announced last Saturday that he was unavailable to coach the team against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Frost Bank Center.
Johnson, who took over the head coaching duties, said he was informed about 2 1/2 hours before tipoff that Popovich would not be coaching that night.
The team on Monday morning posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Popovich was not traveling with the team during a two-game road trip to Los Angeles and Houston.
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Johnson provided the first glimpse into Popovich’s health status when he addressed the media Monday night before the Spurs game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Right now, his health is the number one priority,” Johnson said Monday night. “We support him in that 100%. I talked to him last night. He’s in good spirits, he’ll be okay. He is okay. And we can’t wait to have him back.”
Point guard Chris Paul, who’s in his first season with the Spurs, said Monday night that he hasn’t talked to Popovich and that he doesn’t think any of his teammates have.
Paul added that they are trying to give their coach his space.
“He’d (Popovich) be the first person to tell you not to worry about him, and to go out and hoop,” Paul said. “Of course, all the guys with our team, the staff, everyone, definitely miss him, because he’s Pop. There’s a feeling when he’s in the room that just calms everybody.”
Popovich is in his 29th season, all with the Spurs.
He is No. 1 on the NBA’s all-time list of winningest coaches with 1,391 regular season victories.
Popovich led the Spurs to 170 postseason wins, including five NBA championships.
He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times.
The Spurs also announced Thursday that guard Devin Vassell, who has yet to play this season, has been cleared to resume basketball activities. The team expects Vassell to make his season debut during its five-game homestand which begins Thursday night.
The team also said forward Jeremy Sochan had successful surgery on his fractured left thumb. His timetable to return to the floor is not yet known.