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Popovich: Will be Sad When Duncan Retires
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All posts by Basketball InsidersUpdated4 hours ago on April 25, 2024
The finish line for one of the most successful player-coach partnerships in the history of professional sports is approaching and so is the angst that comes with its pending conclusion for Popovich.
“When he’s not at practice, I’m going to be little depressed, I think,” Popovich said this week. “It makes me sad. I’m going to miss it an awful lot…I’ll think about it when it happens and it’ll be tough, but until then I’m not going to start being unhappy now.”
After Popovich and Duncan claimed their fifth championship together last June, with the Spurs’ five-game annihilation of the Miami Heat, the two sat down to discuss if that was going to be the final run for one or both of them. They both decided to come back. But while the 38-year-old Duncan exercised his $10.3 million option to play his 18th season, Popovich agreed to an under-the-radar multi-year extension, conveniently and quietly announced amid the free agency speculation surrounding LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
