Coach’s absence surprises assistant, players
LOS ANGELES — Spurs assistant Brett Brown walked out of the tunnel at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night, same as he had before 17 games this season and for a lifetime of NBA seasons before that.
He was expecting to turn around and see a familiar face trailing behind.
He became concerned when Gregg Popovich was nowhere to be found.
“It could have been I looked behind me and here comes Pop,” Brown said. “That didn’t happen.”
The 73-year-old Popovich was a late scratch from Sunday’s road trip finale against the Lakers, falling ill with an undisclosed illness just before tipoff.
Brown coached in Popovich’s place, guiding the Spurs in a 123-92 loss to the L.A. Lakers that sent them to 0-5 on a five-game road trip.
The Spurs declined to offer details of the ailment that befell Popovich.
It is clear whatever happened came on suddenly but was not deemed serious enough to have him transported from the arena.
Popovich never left the building after taking ill, a Spurs spokesman said. Doctors who examined Popovich in the locker room pronounced him OK, Brown said.
“We’ve been advised that he’s fine,” Brown said.
News Popovich would not be coaching Sunday came as a surprise to Brown and the players.
Brown found out about as late as could be that he would be coaching his first game since 2020, when he was in Philadelphia.
“I didn’t know about it until 20 seconds before the game was going to be played,” Brown said.
Players, too, were taken aback by Popovich’s sudden absence.
The coaching change came
so close to game time that Lawrence Tanter, the Lakers’ public address announcer, introduced Popovich in the role.
“Everybody knows Pop is very competitive,” center Gorgui Dieng said. “When they told us he wasn’t coming out, it was surprising.”
Indeed, about an hour and a half before tipoff, Popovich had engaged in a sprawling pregame meeting with reporters that lasted 12 minutes and contained about as many punchlines.
He appeared in good health and good spirits, fielding questions on subjects ranging from the art of coaching a young team, to the record-chasing greatness of Lebron James and any other topic lofted his way.
“You’ve got to slap yourself,” Popovich said as part of a long answer about how to avoid being miserable during a losing skid the Spurs eventually extended Sunday.
“It’s the greatest job in the world, so if you complain you’re an idiot.”
A little less than two hours before game time Sunday, Popovich sought out first-year Lakers coach Darvin Ham.
Ham had never played for or coached under Popovich, but does have connections to others on
the Spurs boss’ coaching tree — Mike Budenholzer, Mike Brown and Quin Snyder in particular.
The meeting signified Popovich’s reputation as the dean of NBA coaches.
“I had to thank him for the foundation that he laid,” Ham said.
Ham would not get a chance to coach against Popovich on Sunday.
Brown did his best to concentrate on coaching the young Spurs while worried about his boss and friend.
“He’s a dear friend of mine,” said Brown, who first met Popovich in 1999 when he arrived as
an unpaid intern in the Spurs’ basketball operations department. “We’ve known each other for a quarter of a century. That’s not a short period of time. So my reaction is just, ‘How is he?’ ”
Brown said it was alarming for Popovich to miss a game on such short notice.
“He has such amazing endurance,” Brown said. “He is such an amazing competitor. When something like that happens, you’re concerned.”
Popovich felt well enough to address the team after the game, players said.
At the end of the night, he was spotted walking unaided to the team bus in a crowd that included Brown, a few players and assorted staffers.
It is premature to know if Popovich will be available to coach the Spurs’ next game, Wednesday at home against New Orleans.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope he’s fine,” Dieng said.