Gregg Popovich gets massive long-term contract extension from Spurs
Feb 8, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on the sideline against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Gregg Popovich is not going anywhere any time soon.
The San Antonio Spurs announced Saturday that their longtime head coach Popovich has signed a new five-year contract extension with the team. The extension will keep Popovich as coach of the Spurs through 2028.
Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Popovich’s new extension is a worth a gigantic $80 million ($16 million per season). That is even bigger than the six-year, $78.5 million deal that Monty Williams just got to be the new head coach of the Detroit Pistons (though Williams’ deal has incentives that could send its value soaring even higher).
The 74-year-old Popovich has coached the Spurs since 1996, leading them to five total championships over that span. He is already the oldest head coach in NBA history (as well as the winningest). However, other head coaches at the college basketball level (such as Jim Calhoun, Larry Brown, and Jim Boeheim) coached well into their mid-to-late 70s.
San Antonio has an exciting new project in Victor Wembanyama, whom we know Popovich is very excited to coach. Popovich had been approaching his coaching future on a year-to-year basis up to this point but is now formally committed to the Spurs for several more years to come.
