Spurs CEO RC Buford said Gregg Popovich continues to rehab and is improving, more than a year after he stepped down as head coach following a stroke.
Gregg Popovich is still rehabbing and improving, San Antonio Spurs chief executive officer RC Buford said in a 40-minute interview with the French outlet TrashTalk.
Buford was asked about Popovich during the sit-down, which covered the history of the franchise, Popovich, Tim Duncan, the 2013 NBA Finals, and Victor Wembanyama.
"He continues to rehab with more purpose and diligence than I think any of us could have imagined," Buford said. "He's improving, and his presence is always there to support the team."
Popovich, 77, has been San Antonio's president of basketball operations since May 2, 2025, the day he announced he was stepping away from the bench after 29 seasons as head coach.
Popovich suffered a mild stroke at Frost Bank Center on Nov. 2, 2024, before a game against Minnesota. San Antonio had played five games. Mitch Johnson took over as acting head coach. The Spurs announced in February 2025 that Popovich would not return that season. He was hospitalized again in April after fainting at a restaurant.
Popovich attended an Austin Spurs G League game against the Capital City Go-Go on Jan. 23. Fans at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park gave him a standing ovation. He was at Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3, watching from a suite at Frost Bank Center. ABC showed him in the first quarter.
Before Game 3 in New York, Popovich boarded the team plane. He spent roughly 10 minutes addressing the full roster and another 20 speaking with players one by one, sitting next to Wembanyama, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Popovich coached the Spurs from 1996 through the 2024-25 season and finished 1,390-824, the most regular-season wins of any coach in league history. He won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. He was named Coach of the Year three times and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. He first joined the organization in 1988 as an assistant on Larry Brown's staff, left for two seasons in Golden State, and returned in 1994 as general manager and president of basketball operations before taking over as coach two years later.
Buford joined that same 1988 staff. He moved from general manager to chief executive officer of Spurs Sports & Entertainment in 2019. Brian Wright was promoted behind him.
San Antonio went 62-20 last season, finished second in the Western Conference, and reached the Finals for the first time since 2014. New York won the series in five games. Wembanyama was named Western Conference finals MVP.
Wembanyama then signed a five-year extension worth $252 million on July 10, roughly $51 million below the supermax tier he was in line to qualify for. Chairman Peter J. Holt, Buford, Wright, and Johnson were in France for the meeting.
The Spurs added Tobias Harris this offseason. Wembanyama is due in Belgrade on Aug. 20 for the first of France's four games in the August window. The league is expected to release the full schedule in mid-August. Training camps open in late September.
