While no one expected Popovich to announce his retirement plans early and accept a year-long retirement tour, his departure from the sidelines was far more abrupt than he or anyone would've intended.

Speaking publicly for the first time since suffering a stroke, Gregg Popovich said his health is improving and he fully believes in Mitch Johnson.

The Spurs introduced Johnson as their new head coach on Monday and Popovich (76) was in attendance. Popovich was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year. He's a three-time NBA Coach of the Year (2002-03, 2011-12, 2013-14) and led Team USA to a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.