World
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expresses desire to return to bench in first comments since stroke
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich intends to return to coaching, he said Monday in his first public comments since suffering a stroke in early November.
Popovich, the NBA’s career coaching wins leader, released a statement through the Spurs expressing gratitude for the support he has received in recent weeks. He had what the Spurs said was a mild stroke about 2 1/2 hours prior to the team’s home game against Minnesota on Nov. 2.
There is no timetable for his return to coaching, though the Spurs have said doctors expect Popovich to make a full recovery.
“This has certainly been an unexpected six weeks for my family and me,” Popovich said. “As we work together on my recovery, I want to take a moment to share that the outpouring of support we’ve received during this time has been truly overwhelming in the best possible way.
“While I wish I could get back to each one of you, for now, let me say that my family and I are forever grateful. We’re thankful for our wonderful community, the entire Spurs organization, and our family and friends.”
The 75-year-old Popovich has led the Spurs to five championships and guided the United States to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He is in his 29th season as coach of the Spurs.
The stroke happened at the team’s arena, and since rescue workers were there, Popovich was able to start receiving treatment almost immediately. He was transported to a nearby hospital.
It has not been revealed what lingering effects of the stroke Popovich is dealing with, and how much longer his rehabilitation process may take. Longtime Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson has served as acting coach in Popovich’s absence.
“Mitch has done an incredible job,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said earlier this month.
In his typical self-deprecating style, Popovich said those assisting in his rehabilitation are eager for him to return to work.
Evidently, he’s not the best patient — or a patient person.
“No one is more excited to see me return to the bench than the talented individuals who have been leading my rehabilitation process,” Popovich said. “They’ve quickly learned that I’m less than coachable.”
Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the year award three times, Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others. He’s one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (nine), John Kundla (five) and Riley (five) are the others.
Popovich has been part of the Spurs for nearly 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988-92, then returned to the club on May 31, 1994, as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager. He fired coach Bob Hill and appointed himself coach on Dec. 10, 1996.
He’s been the Spurs’ sideline boss ever since.
“We look forward to the day that we can welcome him back,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said last month.
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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
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As the total damage to three Iranian nuclear sites continues to be assessed, one Middle East expert says that Iran’s stated assessment only reinforces U.S. and Israeli views.
Israel, which has said the strikes set the Iranian nuclear program back years, has the greatest resources in place to make a determination and the most incentive to get the facts right, Jacob Olidort, director of the Center of American Security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“Both the US and Israel say they achieved their objectives,” Olidort said. “Israel presumably had planned around this for many years, and Israel says it has met its objectives, which is destroying Iran’s ability to enrich uranium.”
The U.S. launched a surprise strike using B-2 stealth bombers and bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities on Saturday.
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This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordow following U.S. airstrikes targeting the facility, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Some media reports have pushed back on the Trump administration’s claims that the sites were destroyed and set Iran back years in its quest to achieve a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Wednesday told Al Jazeera that “our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” though he refused to go into detail.
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Olidort said that “everything Iran is doing now is to save face.”
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“We should never take anything Iran says at face value, but their assessment can only reinforce the views of Israel and the U.S. view,” he said.
Map of US strikes on Iran. (Fox News)
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, reiterated on Thursday that the damage done by Israeli and U.S. strikes at Iranian nuclear facilities “is very, very, very considerable.”
“I think annihilated is too much, but it suffered enormous damage,” Grossi told French broadcaster RFI.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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