There comes a point when every coach, legend or not, has to decide whether there is anything left. For former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, that moment seemed to arrive in 2023, after a Hall of Fame résumé from earlier years. Retirement was a realistic possibility. But then Victor Wembanyama arrived with generational expectations, giving the Spurs a new centerpiece to build around. And that has worked so far.

As the franchise returns to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, this moment is as much about Wembanyama’s rise as it is about Popovich’s decision to stay and help lay the foundation for one more championship pursuit. But it wasn’t just a decision to stay, as former Spurs player and current team commentator Sean Elliott, who beat the Knicks to the 1999 title under Pop, shed light on the immense personal sacrifice his head coach made to ensure the franchise’s future.

“I’ve been around Pop for a long time, and when Pop, before Victor got drafted, he was really on the verge of retirement,” Elliott told Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show. “When we won the lottery that year, there were a whole bunch of players—I wasn’t the only one, a whole bunch of former players that told Pop, he’s got to stick around because he’s got to give this young kid a great foundation in this league.”

In the years leading up to Wemby’s arrival, the Spurs had fallen out of serious playoff contention after losing Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, and had traded away DeMar DeRozan as well. There was nothing to play for. Popovich nearly retired before the 2023 draft lottery changed everything.

Elliott and other former Spurs recognized Wembanyama as the franchise’s next cornerstone in the NBA. Popovich, as a result, opted out of a comfortable retirement away from basketball, instead fulfilling a competitive and structural obligation to teach Wembanyama “what this league is all about and what it takes to win a championship.” Certainly, without Pop, the team did not look nearly the same.

It was visible on November 2, 2024, when Pop suffered a mild stroke at the team’s arena just six games into the 2024-25 season. He was given an indefinite medical leave, wherein he reportedly fainted in a restaurant in April 2025. Meanwhile, the Spurs’ momentum was nearly derailed. Ultimately, he chose to move away from the high-pressure job.

Popovich became the president of basketball operations, but still hangs around practices with his heir apparent, Mitch Johnson, officially in his first full season as head coach. Yet, his hold on Wemby remains the same.

The center said that, in his rookie season, Pop was the hardest on him. In fact, Wemby got the same tough love that Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, and fellow French icon, Tony Parker, got. The Frenchman still holds the connection he formed with Pops. At his latest presser since clinching a Finals berth, he revealed his compulsion to consult his first NBA coach.

“I don’t know what it means for him. That’s a guy who’s got more experience as a coach than almost anybody and has been through so many things in his career. He goes through some things we can’t even imagine. So I need to call him. I need to see him. I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels.”

That built up to the 22-year-old’s rise as the first unanimous DPOY campaign and eventual Finals appearance with a small but meaningful nudge by Pops.

Gregg Popovich’s decision laid the foundation for Victor Wembanyama’s first title run

Though his role has shifted, Gregg Popovich’s influence has been anything but passive. During the Spurs’ grueling Western Conference playoff run, complicated by Victor Wembanyama’s concussion, it looked like they stuttered in their hard-fought series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. When they lost Game 1, Popovich made a quiet yet essential return behind the scenes.

According to sources, Popovich returned to the film room to provide a second opinion for the team. While the players look to Mitch Johnson for day-to-day guidance, Pop’s appearances during the playoffs were transformative.

“Some of the players are hearing Mitch, and then you have Pop come in and they get that second opinion,” Elliott explained. “Pop is in there telling them exactly the same thing, but maybe in not so friendly terms.”

This “Pop influence” proved vital in keeping Wemby disciplined.

Following a moment where the young star risked getting ejected for his foul on Naz Reid, the veteran coach reportedly held a candid, no-nonsense conversation with his former charge as soon as the team plane landed in San Antonio. It can be said that the Spurs wouldn’t have come this far with Wemby winning the Western Conference Finals MVP without Pop’s timely intervention.

As the Spurs prepare for their historic rematch against the New York Knicks, recreating the success of Pop’s first title in the 1999 Finals, it is clear that while Mitch Johnson is the coach, the team’s current success is built upon Gregg Popovich, who refused to let his legacy fade until his final student was ready to carry the torch.