By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-05-05 12:27:41
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)周一首次公开露面，自从他去年11月遭遇轻微中风以来，他一直没有公开露面。这次他出席了新闻发布会，宣布米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)接替他成为马刺队的主教练。
“情况一天比一天好，”波波维奇谈到自己的健康时说，“但这还不足以满足我们未来的计划，所以是时候做出改变了。”
马刺队上周五宣布，波波维奇作为球队主教练的历史性29年任期已经结束，期间他带领球队获得了五次NBA总冠军。同一天，马刺队宣布约翰逊将成为球队历史上第19位主教练，他在上个赛季的大部分时间里担任代理主教练，因为波波维奇在本赛季开始的五场比赛后生病。
“我们看到了他的行动，他表现得很出色。…我为他感到无比激动，”波波维奇在球队训练设施举行的活动中谈到约翰逊时说。
名人堂成员蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和马努·吉诺比利(Manu Ginobili)协助76岁的波波维奇从座位上起身走到讲台。他的演讲偶尔有些吃力，但他标志性的幽默感依然存在，包括他脱下热身外套，展示一件印有“El Jefe”字样的黑色T恤，这指的是他将继续担任球队的篮球运营总裁。
38岁的约翰逊在接受记者提问前，向NBA历史胜场数最多的教练波波维奇致敬。
“你教会了我很多东西，以身作则地在很多方面领导着我——球员永远是第一位的，注重细节，疯狂的竞争力，比你的对手在48分钟里打得更努力、更聪明，”约翰逊说。“你教给我的最好的事情，你展示给我的远比你说的多，就是你理解当下，以及每一个当下是多么的重要，没有一个当下是相同的，你必须自律，你必须脚踏实地，活在当下，在每一个当下都奉献自己。”
Former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center, sits between former players Manu Ginobili, left, and Tim Duncan, right, as he waits to introduce Mitch Johnson, left, as the new head coach of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team, in San Antonio, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center, arrives to a news conference with current and former players where Mitch Johnson was introduced as the new head coach of the Spurs NBA basketball team, in San Antonio, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Former San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball head coach Gregg Popovich, left, leaves following a news conference with former players as new head coach Mitch Johnson, second from right, poses for photos with Spurs General Manager Brian Wright, right, in San Antonio, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
With the help of former players Manu Ginobili, left, and Tim Duncan, right, former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center, introduces Mitch Johnson as the new head coach of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team, in San Antonio, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
With the help of former players Manu Ginobili, left, and Tim Duncan, right, former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center, introduces Mitch Johnson as the new head coach of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team, in San Antonio, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
点击查看原文：Popovich makes surprise appearance at Spurs news conference
Popovich makes surprise appearance at Spurs news conference
Gregg Popovich on Monday made his first public appearance since he suffered a mild stroke last November, attending the news conference to introduce Mitch Johnson as his successor as head coach of the Spurs.
“Things are getting better by the day,” Popovich said of his health, “but it’s not good enough for what we plan ahead, and so it’s time to make this change.”
The Spurs announced last Friday that Popovich’s historic 29-year stint as the team’s head coach, a tenure that included five NBA championships, had ended. That same day, the Spurs announced Johnson would become the franchise’s 19th head coach after spending most of last season as the acting head coach after Popovich became ill five games into the season.
“We saw him in action and he was brilliant. … I couldn’t be more thrilled for him,” Popovich said of Johnson during the event at the team’s practice facility.
Fellow Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili assisted Popovich, 76, in getting out of his seat to walk to the podium. His speech was occasionally labored, but his trademark sense of humor was intact, including when he took off his warm-up jacket to unveil a black T-shirt emblazoned with “El Jefe,” a reference to him continuing to serve as the organization’s president of basketball operations.
Johnson, 38, paid tribute to Popovich, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, before taking questions from reporters.
“You’ve taught me so many things, led by example in so many ways - the players are always first, attention to detail, maniacal competitiveness, play harder and smarter for more of the 48 (minutes) than your opponent,” Johnson said. “The best thing you’ve ever taught me and you’ve shown me more than you’ve talked about it, is you understand the moment and how important every single moment is, that no moment is like any other and that you have to be disciplined and you have to be grounded and present and give of yourself in every moment.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News