End Of An Era: After 29 Years Gregg Popovich Is Formally Stepping Down As Head Coach Of The San Antonio Spurs

Tim Warner. Getty Images.

While I think most people expected this domino to eventually fall after the health scares during the year that forced Pop to step away from the Spurs, that doesn't mean it's still not somewhat surprising news now that it's official. It's truly the end of an era not just in terms of Spurs basketball, but NBA basketball. I'm sure there are stoolies reading this blog that weren't even alive the last time the Spurs had a different full time head coach. Pop is a basketball and coaching icon, the gold standard in every sense, and he has the resume to back it up

Those 1,422 wins are the most in NBA coaching history, and frankly, no one else is even relatively close. Number 2 on that list in Don Nelson, and he finished at 1,335. In terms of current coaches, Doc is up next at 1,162 (if he keeps his job) and Rick Carlisle is only at 993. Coach Spo? Just 787. Granted, none of those guys had Tim Duncan and the Spurs trio, but they've all had their fair share of elite NBA talent and look at the gap between Pop and everyone else. 

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His 170 postseason wins are 3rd all time, only outdone by Pat Riley (171) and Phil Jackson (229). Something tells me their rosters were pretty good, too. 

What makes Pop so legendary is the consistency. Year in year out, you could bank on the Spurs for 50 wins and deep runs. We may never see this type of consistent dominance again in our lifetimes

Think of all the different eras of the NBA that this run covered, yet the success remained the same. That, my friends, is an elite culture of winning. We've seen flash in the pan teams, teams that maybe had a 3-5 year window etc. How about a 20 year window? How does that even happen.

The good news is it appears as though Pop is still going to be involved in the organization, which feels like a no brainer. Given his health issues it makes sense that he's stepping away from the grind of coaching and instead is going upstairs to pull the strings from above. I call that the Brad Stevens, and look at what it's done for him. He was burned out coaching, went upstairs, and immediately built a championship wagon. Why can't Pop do the same? He has Wemby, he may also add Cooper Flagg if we have another 1997 Lottery situation on our hands, and the Spurs have cap space and picks to start this next era.

Outside of the coaching dominance, we also shouldn't overlook that Pop was a fantastic sideline interview. Every single time he was put in that position in front of a mic, he delivered

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So it's a bit of a bummer that we won't have this in our lives anymore. A very underrated part of what made Pop so great, in my opinion. 

The good news is that Pop appears to be fully healthy and recovered from his health scares, which is of course the main thing here. If anyone deserves to ride off into the sunset, it's probably him. A HOF coach and then some, it's crazy how fast 29 years can fly by.