Gregg Popovich sent shockwaves through the basketball world with the announcement of his retirement from coaching. After serving as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs for close to three decades, the 76-year-old living legend called it quits on May 2nd. The news came after he suffered an unfortunate stroke in November and did not return to the sidelines for the rest of the season. It has taken perhaps the greatest head coach in the NBA off the sidelines. Also gone but not forgotten is how Popovich used his platform to speak on topics much bigger than basketball.

While the fans all around the world were sad to hear the news, they got to see Popovich after a long hiatus on Monday. Pop made his first public appearance in over six months to formally announce Mitch Johnson as his successor. With two of his most trusted soldiers, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, by his side, Popovich spoke about his health and the future of the franchise. “Things are getting better by the day, but it’s not good enough for what we plan ahead. So, it’s time to make this change.” Popovich said.

And while his days on the sidelines are over, Popovich is now the team’s president, and the Spurs will continue to grow under his watchful eye. To commemorate this moment, the 76-year-old removed his jacket before bringing Johnson to the podium, revealing a T-shirt with “El Jefe” written on it in Spanish. This translates to “The Boss” in English, a shoutout to his new position in San Antonio. “That’s the goal, to make sure we keep it going.” Popovich said, suggesting that he will do everything to help Johnson going forward. He also expressed his faith in Mitch Johnson to carry on his legacy and implied that the plan has been going on for a while.

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However, the Spurs faithful are doubtful about Johnson’s appointment. “Ya’ll think he gonna be a good head coach for our generation era that’s coming? I sure do hope so.” One fan questioned. He wanted to know if Johnson could fill in Popovich’s shoes. Well, filling in for arguably the greatest head coach in NBA history, for sure, won’t be an easy feat. But we have to take into account that Popovich has given the nod to Johnson, which means something. So, we’ll have to wait and watch how this appointment turns out. Meanwhile, others also had a lot to say about this.

The Spurs community has a major doubt about Mitch Johnson’s appointment

The new San Antonio Spurs head coach was officially announced on Monday. Mitch Johnson is the one who’ll be replacing the legendary head coach, Gregg Popovich. Given the fact that Johnson doesn’t have any head coaching experience, the Spurs have expressed their concerns over the appointment. “In my opinion, I think it’s too much talent for a wait-and-see approach. I feel that we should have got a more experienced coach.” One fan suggested. He stated that the Spurs roster, which is filled with the likes of Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox, is too talented for the wait-and-watch approach.

On the contrary, he suggested that the Spurs hire someone with relatively more experience to get the team going. In the meantime, another user gave his opinion on the appointment. “No respectfully he not intense and hard on the players to me and he needs to work on rotation n minutes.” He wrote. His argument was that Mitch Johnson isn’t too intense on the players and might not be the best fit. Well, in Popovich’s absence from the sidelines, he did lead the team to 34 wins. This is 12 more than last season, and you also have to take into account Wembenyama’s injury.

However, not all the fans were disappointed with this appointment. A few believed that if Gregg Popovich had trusted Mitch Johnson, they had no reason not to. “I’m confident he’ll do well. People need to give him a chance. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” A user commented. He stated that people need to give the 38-year-old new head coach a chance. Although he doesn’t have any head coaching experience, it’s not like he doesn’t know the job; he’s honed his skills under Pop since 2019. That must mean something, right?

Meanwhile, another fan made a very intriguing point. “Just like 34 years ago when they said we needed a experienced coach and we took Pop as well. So we Goin with the same approach until it doesn’t work I ain’t gone lie I didn’t like it either but Pops wishes and he deserves it all.” He gave the example of Gregg Popovich himself. Back in 1996, when the team was in dire need of a change, Pop took it upon himself to take on the role of head coach after firing Bob Hill. The rest is history as we know it. So, it might be best to give Mitch Johnson time, as Popovich must have a fair reason to pass the torch to the 38-year-old.