The San Antonio Spurs had an incredible end to the regular season after they pushed past the floundering LA Lakers to earn the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. However, they were beaten by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 9-10 matchup and have been eliminated from the playoffs for the third year running.
The Western Conference bracket without the Spurs looks incomplete, but that is a testament to Gregg Popovich, who brought the team to the playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons. He also brought the city 5 championships. Popovich is the longest-standing coach in NBA history and has the most wins of all time.
However, it is fair to speculate on the future of a 72-year-old man whose team isn’t competitive anymore. Especially when they have achieved literally everything they could like Pop has. However, after the loss to the Pelicans, Popovich was in no mood to talk about his possible retirement.
San Antonio's Gregg Popovich says any question about his plans to coach next season or leave the bench is "inappropriate" immediately after the Spurs' loss in New Orleans tonight after a 34-48 season.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 14, 2022
The Spurs had a great season for what they could realistically achieve. The young team got another season of experience under their belt, with players like Dejounte Murray taking an All-Star leap. Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, and others have shown their commitment to the franchise and have developed into better players over the year.
However, they are still a few moves away from fully competing with the top of the West again. Whether they make those moves in the last year or two of Pop’s time with the team or wait until this era has fully passed is something we are yet to see.
Gregg Popovich will coach in the NBA until he wants, nobody will sack him from his seat in San Antonio. However, when will he be ready to contend with the possibility that it is time to transition away from basketball? As a fan, I don’t want to see Pop go. But as a fan, I also do want to see him do what is best for him. He has earned that right over a stellar career.
