Gregg Popovich hilariously accused his former San Antonio Spurs stars of having ulterior motives while assisting him with his rehab.
Popovich recently stepped down from his position as the Spurs’ head coach after 29 seasons due to medical reasons. He announced the news last week along with his plan to transition to a leadership role in the Spurs’ front office.
The 76-year-old was present Monday as the Spurs officially introduced Mitch Johnson as Coach Pop’s replacement. Popovich shared the news with his former players, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, by his side. The Hall of Famer tandem had to assist Popovich to the podium.
Popovich revealed that Duncan and Ginobili have been present for “all” of his rehab workouts. Instead of expressing gratitude, Popovich humorously accused them of acting out of revenge.
“Timmy and Manu, who have been here for all of my workouts here at The Rock,” Popovich said. “They say it’s because they love me and want to be there in case I fall— I call it payback, cause they give the rehab people new ideas of things to do to me. You’re not fooling anybody, especially you Timmy.”
Last month, Popovich had a medical emergency while dining at a restaurant. The health scare happened just months after the veteran coach suffered a stroke and was forced to leave the team early in the regular season.
But despite his health issues, Popovich clearly still has enough energy to crack a few jokes. Coach Pop even gave himself a new nickname to go along with his new role in the Spurs’ front office.
