San Antonio Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson provided a statement before addressing the media Monday at Intuit Dome that highlighted Gregg Popovich’s “impact on our organization” on the heels of what the team announced would be an indefinite absence after suffering a health issue Saturday at the Frost Bank Center.
“He’ll be OK, and we can’t wait to have him back,” Johnson said.
But the Spurs enter uncharted waters, as Popovich’s absences against the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Clippers match the most consecutive games (two) he has missed during the regular season. San Antonio faces the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and Popovich won’t be with the team.
When the coach sits out against Houston, it would tie his most consecutive absences in the regular season or the playoffs.
Johnson, 39, will remain coach of the Spurs as Popovich continues to recover, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, but as the team works behind the scenes to assess the health of its coach, the future remains unclear, with no other contingency plan in place.
Here’s the latest on an evolving situation in San Antonio:
What’s the update on Gregg Popovich’s status?
The team isn’t providing official updates, including any timeline on his return, out of respect for the coach and his privacy. The extent of the coach’s health issue isn’t fully known, but sources told ESPN that Popovich is at home and resting.
Johnson spoke to Popovich on Sunday and said, “he’s in good spirits.”
“Obviously, the circumstances are unique,” Johnson said of his conversation with Popovich. “But as much continuity and familiarity we can have I think is what we’re looking for. That’s what we know Pop would want. He said he wants us to do it. We have talked and nothing changes.”
Popovich hasn’t talked to any of San Antonio’s players, according to point guard Chris Paul.
“I haven’t, and don’t think any of the guys on the team have,” Paul said. “Obviously, we wanted to. We’re trying to give him space, and trying to make sure we can control what we can control.”
What have the Spurs done in the past when Pop was sick or otherwise absent?
The Spurs have always utilized assistant coaches as fill-ins whenever Popovich missed games. In the past, the assistant drawing that responsibility was usually the one who had scouted the upcoming opponent coming into the matchup.
Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, former Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown and former Spurs big man Tim Duncan have all filled in for Popovich during their time as Spurs assistants.
But this time, it’s different, as sources have told Charania that the organization immediately turned to Johnson to take over for Popovich. Johnson has replaced Popovich in the past, leading San Antonio in March of 2023 to a 110-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers when the coach fell ill.
Johnson also stood in for Popovich in 2021 when he attended Tim Duncan’s Hall of Fame induction.
“This has happened a few times,” Johnson said. “My role is different. I’ve coached summer league before. I’ve been behind the bench. I’ve been in the G League. All those things help the organization. This is just another opportunity in a different role to hopefully help the team win.”
Who is Mitch Johnson, the Spurs’ current interim coach?
Johnson, 37, joined the staff as an assistant with the Austin Spurs in 2016, quickly establishing himself as a rising star in the coaching ranks. Many around the NBA said he was poised to become a head coach coming into the season, and was impressive in interviews for head-coaching positions with other teams, sources said.
Johnson is the son of former two-time NBA All-Star John Johnson, and first spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the franchise’s G League affiliate in Austin, helping it win a G League title in 2018 before joining Popovich’s staff in 2019.
He played college basketball at Stanford, where he averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 assists as the Cardinal advanced to the NCAA tournament twice during his tenure. Johnson also played briefly in the G League for Tulsa.
What other assistants are on the Spurs’ bench?
Brown spent nine years as an assistant under Popovich in San Antonio before leaving in 2013 to become head coach of the 76ers. Brown coached for seven seasons in Philadelphia, but returned to San Antonio in 2022 as an assistant. Matt Nielsen serves as the other assistant on the bench.
Brown, 63, is focused on his role as a player development coach. The club originally hired him in 2002, when the Spurs first brought future Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili to San Antonio from Europe, and immediately paired him with Ginobili to aid in his development.
Sources have said that in recent years Johnson and Nielsen have handled much of San Antonio’s film study as Popovich has gradually delegated those responsibilities to assistants.
Like Johnson, Nielsen worked with San Antonio’s G League affiliate before joining Popovich’s staff, serving as head coach of the Austin Spurs during the 2020-21 season, after working the previous season as an assistant there. Nielsen originally began his coaching career in San Antonio as a player development assistant during the 2014-15 season and spent time as an assistant with the club’s Summer League team from 2014-19.
Nielsen worked as the head coach of San Antonio’s Summer League team going into Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
