San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich holds the record for the fastest ejection from a game in league history, clocking in at 63 seconds. Credit: Meredith Garcia

Despite suffering a stroke near the start of the current season, Gregg Popovich is expected to return as the Spurs’ head coach, team officials said Tuesday.

“He’s been improving weekly,” Spurs CEO R.C. Buford told reporters, French news outlet L’Equipe reports. “We don’t know when he will be back, but he will be at some point.”

Buford’s comment came during a Paris press conference to discuss what will be the Thursday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers in the French capital, the first of two scheduled for this week.

It’s the first time the team has publicly commented on Popovich’s health since confirming that the Hall of Fame coach suffered a stroke before the Spurs’ 113-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 2.

Buford’s remarks also come as the Silver and Black have struggled to secure wins under interim coach Mitchell Johnson. The team has lost six of its past seven games.

The Spurs’ first international matchup against the Indiana Pacers starts at 1 p.m. Central Time Thursday. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

The team is hosting watch parties in San Antonio and Austin for Saturday’s contest, which will start at 11 a.m. Central Time. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...