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.

Gregg Popovich spoke publicly for the first time since his stroke, saying he's "getting better by the day" but that "it's time" for Mitch Johnson to be the Spurs' coach.

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.