by San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will miss an unspecified number of games after suffering a “health issue” on Saturday, ESPN and the Associated Press reported.
Assistant Mitch Johnson, who coached the team during their victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, will fill in for Popovich in the interim.
The Spurs have not disclosed what the health issue is for Popovich. ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the coach “experienced a health situation” prior to the Timberwolves game.
Johnson said after the game Saturday that Popovich was “not feeling well.”
“This has happened before. I think everyone just has to always be ready for the next guy.” Johnson said. “Sometimes people get sick or don’t feel well, or things happen in life. He just doesn’t feel well.”
The 75-year-old Popovich is in his 29th season as San Antonio’s head coach. Popovich, the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA, is also the league’s all-time leader with 1,391. He led the Spurs to championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Johnson, 37, has been an assistant since 2019.
“Mitch did a great job, man,” San Antonio point guard Chris Paul said Saturday. “I think our entire coaching staff [did]. Things happen all the time in this league and just like the players, it’s the next man up. So shout out to Mitch, he did a great job tonight.”
