NBA coaching icon Gregg Popovich suffers “mild stroke” – San Antonio Spurs are without a coach “for an indefinite period of time”.

The 75-year-old is “expected to make a full recovery.” It is not clear when he will be able to return to the sidelines. Assistant Mitch Johnson is leading the team as interim coach in Popovich’s absence.

“His health is the priority at the moment,” assistant coach Johnson had said the previous week: “I’ve spoken to him. He’s in good spirits. He’s okay and we can’t wait to have him back.”

Popovich has been in charge of the Spurs since 1996; no other coach has stayed with a team for so long. He led San Antonio to five championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), and he also leads the all-time list of NBA coaches with 1,390 regular-season wins and 170 playoff wins. As national coach, he led the USA to gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.