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Two days before San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was taken via ambulance from a local restaurant, Victor Wembanyama and several of the team's top players took questions during the organization's end-of-the-year interviews. Among the topics discussed was the future of their Hall of Fame head man.
“I trust the organization. I trust Pop to do all he can to come back, to get his energy back,” Wembanyama said.
Since that media session on April 14, the status regarding the winningest coach in NBA history has grown only more uncertain.
Officials in San Antonio say that on April 16, they responded to a call for an elderly person who had fainted. Three days later, it was identified that Popovich was the elderly person, per TMZ. It was later confirmed that Popovich was at home, stable and doing fine.
The incident stems from a mild stroke the longest tenured coach in the league suffered in November. Pop missed virtually the entire season with assistant Mitch Johnson taking the reins as the acting head coach.
“I also trust Mitch to grow into that role,” Wemby added. “I think we're in good hands. We're supporting each other all throughout the organization. I don't know, I'm ready for anything and I know the organization will make good decisions.”
Spurs players share thoughts on Gregg Popovich and Mitch Johnson
Like Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox also addressed the media for the first time ahead of their last game following a season-ending injury. While Wemby had been out since mid-February, Fox hadn't played since mid-March. He also shared thoughts on Popovich in relation to the interim replacement.
“It's an extremely tough thing to do. I've been through coach firings before. Now, this is definitely something that's very different because of the way that happened with Pop. But, you don't want stuff to just fall off of a cliff once things like that happen,” Fox continued as he then invoked Johnson.
“I think he's done a great job. I think he's done a great job of keeping that up, keeping the spirits high, keeping the team together, keeping the locker room together. I think everybody back there respects Mitch and he's been awesome ever since I've been here.”
Along those lines, Fox recalled a moment with Johnson upon joining the Spurs by trade in early February.
“The first day that I got here, we had a short meeting, just us two together. I've had a blast playing for him and I think he's done an excellent job. Especially with a young team like this, it's hard to keep that together through a full season and when a coach goes down like that's an extremely hard thing to do.”
One of the Spurs top defenders and most versatile players also chimed in on the reality of life without Popovich this season.
“It's going to be different from Pop,” Jeremy Sochan admitted. “Overall, it was good and we learned a lot. I feel like that was the most important thing.”
Now, the Spurs wait to learn whether they'll face the future without their legendary coach.
