After almost three decades on the San Antonio Spurs bench, Gregg Popovich has just turned a historic page in American basketball. At 76, the one who was the oldest coach in office in the major American sports leagues left his role as principal coach to become president of basketball operations of the Texan franchise, as announced by the team last Friday.
According to estimates of Sportythe emblematic coach received just over $ 200 million (€ 177 million) during its almost 30 years at the head of the Spurs. His latest contract, signed in the summer of 2023 for a period of five years, assured him an average annual salary of around $ 17 million (€ 15 million). This amount placed it in the second row of the NBA’s best paid coaches, just behind Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, and in the fourth row all sports combined in North America.
He was the 2nd best paid coach of the NBA
The adventure of Popovich on the Spurs bench had started unexpectedly in December 1996, when, then managing director of the team, he had dismissed Bob Hill to take the reins of the team himself. This was followed by an exceptional career marked by a record of 1,422 victories in the NBA, including 35 in the 2024-25 season before it was replaced by Mitch Johnson following a stroke last November. Johnson was also confirmed as his permanent successor.
Under his direction, the Spurs experienced 22 consecutive seasons of Playoffs between 1998 and 2019 and won five NBA titles. Popovich was also appointed coach of the year three times, a record he shares with Don Nelson and Pat Riley.
Its conversion comes in a context of significant renewal on the NBA benches, two of the five oldest coaches who have also left their functions in recent weeks. From now on, only Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat, since 2008) and Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors, since 2014) have been holding their post for more than four years.
