Gregg Popovich has signed a five-year contract to remain head coach of the Spurs, the team announced (via Twitter).
The new deal is worth $80MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, surpassing the record six-year, $78MM deal that Monty Williams got from the Pistons last month.
Popovich also serves as San Antonio’s president of basketball operations, and Wojnarowski notes that the contract doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be the team’s head coach for the next five seasons (Twitter link).
At 74, Popovich is already the oldest coach in NBA history, and the new deal will keep him on the sidelines until nearly his 80th birthday if he coaches through its entirety. It also ensures that he will have ample time to develop Victor Wembanyama, who is expected to be San Antonio’s next franchise player.
Popovich’s most recent contract expired at the end of last season, but the Spurs have been operating under the assumption that he was coming back. That became a near certainty after the team landed the top spot in the lottery and the chance to draft Wembanyama.
Popovich first joined the Spurs in 1988 as the lead assistant to Larry Brown. He left for the Warriors for a couple of seasons in the early 1990s, but returned to San Antonio in 1994 as general manager and vice president of basketball operations.
Early in the 1996-97 season, Popovich named himself head coach, a position he has held ever since. He has the most coaching victories in NBA history with 1,364 and has guided the Spurs to all five NBA titles in franchise history. He has also been named Coach of the Year three times and has served as head coach in four All-Star games.
Popovich has been active in international competitions as well, leading Team USA to the gold medal in the most recent Olympics.
Pop needs to give up some money to his assistant coaches
Please, go away bot
Jbl is bot
Bot goes away
You mean give money back to all the coaches he’s produced, helped land jobs, and win championships with him and on their own?
You’re clueless.
What a comeback Sillivan, JBL is bot, bot goes away.
Can you follow bot out the door please.
Is there a reason that Sillivan types in riddles and rarely makes any sense?
I don’t live in the San Antonio area, don’t see a lot of their games, but he sure seems to get maximum effort from his guys
I dunno, his tell it like it is communicative style sure is refreshing.
5/80. If anyone is going to get that, it’s him. One of the best, all-time.
Really what has he won without David Robinson and Tim Dunkin. They are two of the best of all time. He’s very replaceable
Pop soon gonna look like Jack Nicholson. Maybe he wants to run for president after that.
Too young
Are the spurs sure he’s gonna live 5 more years?
Guess I’d counter that with, are you sure you are?
And if he doesn’t they hire another coach for a lot less money. What’s the problem with that?
do the spurs win a championship before the contract is up?
That’s tough. Depends on a lot of guys growth. Also if they are able to add a superstar through trade or get lucky and draft another. I’d say year 3-5 they should be a good playoff team. We will see.
The question in this era becomes, how many superstars are willing to go through the growing pains with such a youth-oriented roster. Anymore, you have to wonder
I guess the Team President still has that man crush on Pop, and couldn’t bear to see him not be the highest paid HC in the league. If ownership is OK with it, who’s anyone else to question it.
Are you talking about the Managing Partner Steve Holt? Pops is the President of Spurs basketball.
I thought I was pretty clear. I didn’t say he was the owner (which is effectively what the managing partner is). I said he was Team President (the highest ranking basketball executive). Same job as Pat Riley, Leon Rose, etc. Except he’s also HC. Clear now?
One of the five best coaches in NBA history, he should be the highest paid current coach. Surprised that he agreed to five years though, would have thought he had 2-3 years left. With Wemby, picks galore, future cap flexibility and a couple of decent young players on the team already, maybe years four and five bring the team another title.
Huge mistake. He just doesn’t have it anymore
This is insane.. the man is 74 years old lol… if he had a sit down job.. fine.. but being an NBA coach means you’re running plays in practice and being very physical (this is why Phil Jackson quit) …. for context.. Jack McKeon.. the man everyone said was “ancient” when he took over the Marlins and won the World Series in 2003… was two years YOUNGER than Pop is now.
Once his wife passed away he maybe afraid to retire. Joe Paterno always said the coaching was keeping him alive shortly after he was ousted he died
Pop is the most overrated and overpaid coach in the History of the NBA. Without a top 5 player, his teams have been trash. When he took over team USA, he ended a 17 year win streak and lead them to one of the worst USA teams ever. Pathetic. But he fits the agenda so A. silver gonna make him look good, that’s why they rigged the draft
Yeah, why couldn’t he be more like Phil Jackson or Steve Kerr! Those guys won all those championships with scrubs— true rags to riches story
Exactly, he makes sure he fits the narrative. A real clever oil salesman with his progressive talk and anti 2nd amendment views. As a coach his hasn’t done anything with Robinson and dunkin