Connect with us

Sports

Gregg Popovich steps down as San Antonio Spurs head coach and is moving to team’s front office as president

Published

on



CNN
 — 

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich – the NBA’s all-time winningest head coach – has made the decision to leave the team’s sideline after 29 seasons.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement released by the team. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

Popovich will transition to the team’s president of basketball operations, according to the team. ESPN was first to report on his decision. Mitch Johnson, who was interim head coach in Popovich’s absence, has been named head coach.

The decision to step back from the bench represents the end to a Hall of Fame career on the sidelines for Popovich, long known as one of the premier coaches in the NBA and across the basketball world.

Popovich, 76, had been absent from the sideline since suffering a mild stroke on November 2 at Frost Bank Center, the home arena of the Spurs.

At the time, the team announced that he was in rehabilitation and was “expected to make a full recovery.”

In a statement released in December, Popovich had expressed his desire to return to coaching.

“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 at the time. “They’ve quickly learned that I’m less than coachable.”

Johnson, then a Spurs assistant, was promoted to interim head coach in Popovich’s absence.

Popovich a winner and a mentor

Beyond leading the Spurs to multiple NBA championships, Popovich has served as a mentor to players and coaches alike in the pro and college ranks.

In 2014, he famously hired Becky Hammon as an assistant coach – leading to more women on NBA coaching staffs.

In 2020, when Popovich was ejected from a game, Hammon became the first woman to direct an NBA team as a head coach in a regular-season game. Today, Hammon is considered one of the premier head coaches in the WNBA, leading the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023.

At the NCAA men’s Final Four last month, Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson spoke multiple times about the key role Popovich played in his own career.

Popovich joined the Spurs in the summer of 1988, as an assistant coach to Larry Brown’s staff and later left to be an assistant at Golden State under Don Nelson.

In 1994, Popovich joined San Antonio’s front office. He became the head coach of the Spurs on December 10, 1996, taking over after he fired Bob Hill. Of his 37 years in the NBA as a coach or executive, 35 of those seasons have been with the Spurs.

He has 1,422 regular season victories to his name, an NBA record. He has also won 170 postseason games, five NBA championships and is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the year award three times alongside Nelson and Pat Riley.

Popovich, as head coach of the USA Basketball men’s national team, led Team USA to the gold medal in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021.

“Coach Pop’s extraordinary impact on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the game of basketball is profound,” said Peter Holt, the managing partner of the Spurs. “His accolades and awards don’t do justice to the impact he has had on so many people. He is truly one-of-one as a person, leader and coach. Our entire family, alongside fans from across the globe, are grateful for his remarkable 29-year run as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.”

CNN’s Ben Morse contributed to this report.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray end coaching partnership after six months

Published

on



CNN
 — 

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have ended their coaching relationship after six months as the 24-time grand slam singles champion continues to struggle for form in 2025.

“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court,” Djokovic wrote on his social media channels. “I really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”

The longtime rivals, who faced off in several all-time classic encounters on the court, announced in November that Murray would be joining Djokovic’s coaching team.

The partnership got off to a promising start as Djokovic reached the semifinals of January’s Australian Open after beating Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set epic in the quarterfinals, only for an injury to cut his last-four match against Alexander Zverev short.

However, Djokovic and Murray have failed to rekindle anything close to that kind of form in the months since.

“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement. “I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”

Djokovic’s best performance this year came in reaching the final of the Miami Open, where he lost to unseeded teenager Jakub Menšík. The 24-time grand slam champion lost in the first round at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells before Miami, and in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open since.

As recently as March, Djokovic said he hoped Murray would be his coach through the French Open and Wimbledon.

The 37-year-old pulled out of the ongoing Italian Open at the end of April, and this week accepted a wildcard into the Geneva Open which begins on May 18.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Jayson Tatum: Boston loses star to leg injury as Knicks come up huge at home to take 3-1 lead over Celtics

Published

on



CNN
 — 

Jayson Tatum will have an MRI on the lower leg injury he suffered during the Boston Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 defeat against the New York Knicks on Monday.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics forward went down with an apparent non-contact injury as he tried to go after a loose ball. He quickly grabbed his right ankle and appeared to be in a lot of pain.

Tatum was helped off the court as he couldn’t put any pressure on his right leg and was taken through the tunnel in New York’s Madison Square Garden in a wheelchair.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game Tatum suffered a “lower body injury” and will have the scan on Tuesday.

“You are always worried about someone’s health,” Mazzulla told reporters. “He’s the type of guy that gets right up. He didn’t and we’ll know tomorrow exactly what it is. It’s tough to watch a guy like him getting carried off like that.”

To make matters worse, Monday’s defeat means the Boston Celtics now trail 3-1 in the series and face elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Trainers check on Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum after he was injured late in the fourth quarter.

Down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, New York ended the period on a 12-2 run to take an 88-85 lead into the fourth.

With less than six minutes remaining in regulation of a tied 102-102 game, OG Anunoby drained a three-pointer to give the Knicks a 105-102 lead, which New York would not relinquish.

Four Knicks players scored at least 20 points with Jalen Brunson leading the way with 39 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 23 points and Anunoby added 20.

After the victory, Brunson discussed the comeback win and extending the series lead.

“It means a lot. It’s a big game for us, just the way we responded, is what I’m most proud of, sticking together and making sure we are not quitting,” Brunson said at the postgame news conference.

“That’s a tough team over there. Obviously, we want to get off to better starts, but they got experience. They’re the defending champs for a reason.”

Tatum finished with a game-high 42 points, tying Celtics legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek for the most 40-point postseason games in franchise history. Tatum also had eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in 40 minutes.

“That’s our brother, hate to see him go down. We know the type of guy he is. It’s tough to see him go down,” Celtics guard Derrick White, who scored 23 points in the loss, said after the game. “We just have to find a way to win Game 5.”

Boston guard Jaylen Brown, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, said it was “tough” seeing Tatum go down.

Tatum is set to undergo an MRI Tuesday.

“Tonight is tough. I think everybody is kind of at a loss of words just because, one losing a game, but obviously, the concern with JT. But we pick our heads back up tomorrow and go from there,” Brown said.

Brunson said he’s “praying for the best” for Tatum.

“We want to go out there and compete, but when a player of his caliber goes down and he’s rolling in pain like that, you know something is wrong, so that why I gave my thoughts and prayers because you never want to see something like that ever. ”

The Knicks will look to eliminate the defending NBA champion Celtics on Wednesday in Boston.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Coco Gauff makes history with dominant victory over Emma Raducanu to advance to Italian Open quarterfinals

Published

on



CNN
 — 

American tennis star Coco Gauff put on a dominant display as she eased past Emma Raducanu on Monday to book her spot in the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The No. 4 seed dropped just three games in her convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over her British opponent in Rome, needing just 79 minutes to secure victory.

In reaching the quarterfinals, the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player to reach four quarterfinals in WTA 1000 clay tournaments since the top-level events were introduced in 2009.

Gauff will face world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the final eight on Wednesday after the 18-year-old came back to beat Clara Tauson in three sets.

Gauff is showing impressive form on clay at the right time with the French Open just around the corner.

The American has won eight of her last nine matches on the surface, with her only loss coming in the final of the Madrid Open to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff revealed after her victory over Raducanu that she has been focusing on her footwork over the last two weeks in preparation for playing at Roland Garros, and highlighted her forehand – which has been inconsistent of late – as a key factor in her win on Monday.

“I think, today, (it) was the reason why I won the match,” Gauff told reporters. “Especially on this surface, I think I can do a lot with it.”

Gauff was in control from the outset against Raducanu on Campo Centrale and never let up. She won 39 of her 59 service points and broke Raducanu’s serve four times.

Gauff has now won both of her matches against Raducanu during her career.

She admitted that it has taken some time to get adjusted to playing on a different surface in Italy but feels good about where she is now.

“It still feels so slow compared to Madrid,” Gauff said, “but I’m getting used to it with each match. I feel really happy with how I played. I think I really was the one dictating the match for the most part.”

Elsewhere on Monday, Sabalenka held of a stiff challenge from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to book her spot in the quarterfinals, winning 6-1, 7-6 (8) in two hours and five minutes.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending