As Speculation Mounts Whether Popovich Will Retire, Here Are Some Of The Few NBA Coaching Records He Has Yet To Achieve

Topline

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, 73, gave no insight into whether he would be returning for his 27th NBA season this fall following the Spurs’ 113-103 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in a play-in game—here are some of the records he’d be leaving on table if he does walk away.

Key Facts

Hours after the Spurs were shut out of the playoffs for the third straight season, Popovich told reporters it was “inappropriate” to ask whether he’d return to coach the Spurs in the fall.

If Popovich were to retire, he would do so as the winningest NBA coach in regular-season history with 1,344 victories, but he would fall 59 playoff wins short of Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, who holds the record with 229 postseason victories with the Chicago Bulls and L.A. Lakers.

Popovich is just two playoff wins away from passing Pat Riley, another Hall of Fame coach who led the Lakers and Miami Heat to five total championships, for second place on the postseason wins list.

Jackson also holds the record for highest regular-season win percentage at 70.4%, while Popovich’s success rate has dipped to 12th on the all-time list at 65.7% after three straight losing seasons.

Popovich, who won his first Olympic gold medal as head coach of the U.S. Men’s national team last summer in Tokyo, is two gold medals behind former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most in U.S. men’s basketball coaching history.

If Popovich were to hang around and win gold in 2024 in Paris, he would join Krzyzewski and Henry Iba as the only U.S. men’s basketball coaches with multiple gold medals.

Key Background

Popovich began his coaching career as an assistant with the U.S. Air Force Academy’s team in 1973. He was an assistant with the Spurs for four years before becoming the general manager and vice president of basketball operations of the team in 1994. In 1996, following a 3-15 start to the regular season, Popovich fired head coach Bob Hill and named himself as his replacement. That offseason, the Spurs drafted future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan, and he and Popovich would go on to win five NBA championships together over the course of two decades. He’s won three Coach of the Year awards, and the NBA named him one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in February.

Big Number

443. That’s how many more games Popovich would have to coach to overtake Lenny Wilkins for the record of most regular-season games coached in NBA history—equivalent to about five and a half more seasons. He’s also 49 games behind Jackson (333) for most playoff games coached.

What To Watch For

Will Hardy, a former Spurs assistant coach under Popovich who is now a part of Boston Celtics head coach Ima Udoka’s staff, is reportedly a favorite to replace Popovich when he retires. Other candidates include former Spurs players like Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who have remained around the team in part-time assistant capacities following their retirement. Longtime Spurs assistant coach and former WNBA player Becky Hammon was considered to be a prime candidate to replace Popovich and become the NBA’s first female head coach, but she left the Spurs Wednesday to become the head coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces—becoming the highest-paid coach in the league’s history.