Former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a medical emergency last month, and now the audio from the 911 call made that day has been released.
This week, TMZ Sports published the 911 audio from the medical incident that Popovich suffered in April while at a restaurant. Popovich was dining at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in San Antonio, Tex. when he suddenly fainted.
“I have a guest that is not responding,” said an unidentified male caller on the tape. “Down here in the restaurant. [He is] barely responding … He passed out for a little bit.”
The caller then told the 911 operator a few seconds later that “he’s responding now.” You can listen to the full audio tape here.
TMZ had also previously obtained a video purportedly showing Popovich, who is 76 years old, on a stretcher being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
The April medical incident was separate from the stroke that Popovich suffered last November before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Popovich, who had not coached at all since suffering the stroke, announced earlier this month that he was officially retiring as a head coach and transitioning into the Spurs’ front office. The five-time NBA champion Popovich made the announcement publicly in front of reporters and noted that he was “getting better by the day” (but still looked frail while doing so).
Having coached the Spurs since 1996, Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA history with 1,592 total victories (regular season and playoffs). San Antonio has already tabbed Mitch Johnson, who took over on an interim basis after Popovich’s stroke, as their new full-time head coach. The 38-year-old Johnson will now lead the Spurs (and their core of Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle) into the future as they look to improve on their 34-48 finish this season.
