Will Gregg Popovich return to the San Antonio Spurs for another season in 2023-24? It appears the answer is yes.
On Saturday, Coach Pop said big man Zach Collins will be the starter at the five next year, hinting at his plans to return to the Spurs bench.
“He’s made it. He’s going to be the guy at five for us,” Popovich said, via the San Antonio Express.
There have been some rumblings that Popovich could retire at the season's end. He essentially shut down the rumors with his comments on Collins, who became the starter in San Antonio after Jakob Poeltl was traded to the Toronto Raptors, the team that drafted him.
Collins is averaging 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per night for the Spurs while also shooting 37% from deep. Gregg Popovich applauded the former Portland Trail Blazer for improving his ability to shoot the triple:
“He’s playing with abandon now, for a long time, for months,” Popovich said. “He’s added the three-point shot to his game, he’s balanced better on the post, he’s playing good defense.”
Popovich first joined the Spurs organization in 1988 as an assistant before taking over as the head coach in 1996. During his time in Texas, the 74-year-old has won five NBA titles and captured Coach of the Year honors three times.
At this point, Coach Pop is just relishing the opportunity to help these young players learn the game and develop because, after all, San Antonio is a long way off from contending. He even voiced how much fun it was just helping the roster improve during the first full year of the rebuild after Tuesday's loss to the Suns. Per SI:
“It's fun coaching them,” Popovich said. “Obviously, it was going to be a tough night for them but their competitiveness was great. They got better after the first quarter. I think we were intimidated. Played very competitively, and executed pretty damn well against a very good basketball team. I was happy for them. I thought they did a good job.”
The NBA still needs Gregg Popovich around and it looks like he will be.
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