New Video Of Gregg Popovich Has NBA Fans Heartbroken

With the NBA playoffs set to begin this Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs received a special visit from Gregg Popovich during their final practice of the week.

Popovich coached the Spurs from 1996-2025, winning five NBA championships and owning 1,390 regular-season wins. Unfortunately, the three-time NBA Coach of the Year winner suffered a stroke in November 2024. It was then announced in May 2025 that he was stepping down as San Antonio's coach.

"While my love and passion for the game remain, I've decided it's time to step away as head coach," Popovich said in a statement. "I'm forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me."

Even though Popovich won't be on the sidelines for the playoffs, he gave the Spurs some advice this Friday. That being said, a video of Popovich walking around the facility has left NBA fans heartbroken over his condition.

"I don't want to see Pop like this man," one fan said. "I'm so happy he recovered. Great person and historical coach and mentor, but I kind of hurt in my heart watching this. One of the greatest coaches of all time!"

"This almost made me cry. This man used to give me legit nightmares. Respect is an understatement," a second person wrote. "I hope he's ok."

"It hurts to see Pop like this," another fan commented.

"Seeing Pop back on that court means everything," a social media user added. "A living legend still showing up for his guys."

The Spurs are feeling confident.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle, who started his career under Popovich, shared the advice he received from his former coach.

"He said not to really do anything different from what we've been doing all season," Castle told reporters, via San Antonio Express News. "I think he kind of just gave us another perspective on how well we've been playing and the position we've put ourselves in. He said just keep doing what we've been doing to get in those spots."

The Spurs went 62-20 in the regular season, so it's not like they need to make major changes to their style. We'll see if they make Popovich proud during the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Game 1 between the Spurs and Trail Blazers is set for this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 9:14 AM.