NBA Mourns Death Of Gregg Popovich’s Wife
Gregg Popovich’s wife, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, is being honored by the NBA.
The team announced that Erin Popovich,67, passed away on Wednesday. According to the San Antonio Express-News, she passed away following a protracted illness.
When informed after the game, LeBron James, who was participating in Game 2 of Cleveland’s first-round series against Indiana, was obviously upset.
I’m obviously a major Pop fan. Pop is my favorite. James remarked, “That’s such a tragedy,” in his TNT postgame interview. “My condolences to Pop and his family. That’s terrible to hear.
“The NBA family is a cohesive unit. We compete every night, I know that. However, when something like this occurs, everything becomes clear.
Popovich is the men’s basketball coach for the Olympics right now. James refers to Popovich as a “mastermind of the game” and has stated that, if he were to miss the Olympics in Rio, he would think about competing for the United States team in Tokyo in 2020.
Since taking over as coach in 1996, Popovich has guided the Spurs to five NBA championships. In the first round of the playoffs, San Antonio is behind Golden State 2-0.
Popovich, 69, led practice on Wednesday, but his availability for Game 3 on Thursday night was not immediately known. If Popovich wasn’t there, the team would probably be led by assistant coach Ettore Messina.
Kevin Durant of Golden State remarked in San Antonio, after learning of Erin Popovich’s passing: “Seriously? Man. We send our sympathies and prayers to his family.
Two daughters and two grandchildren belong to the Popovich family. When he was an assistant coach for the Falcons in the 1970s, they met at the Air Force Academy. Jim Conboy, Erin’s father, was the chief athletic trainer for the Air Force.
Erin Popovich was described as a “strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support, and humor to all of us” by Spurs general manager RC Buford.
Brett Brown, the current coach of Philadelphia and a former assistant to the Spurs, stated he has known her for a long time.
“They have an amazing family,” he remarked. “My family has received incredible kindness from their family. Furthermore, she was a true star. A formidable woman who will be sorely missed.
