POP HEALTH UPDATES

[G R E Y]

I'm channeling this energy for the PEMBY Motherload of all Comebacks!

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And it wouldn't hurt any for them and the team to watch this championship DVD on repeat to infuse them with this mentality.

Keeping .5 selflessness alive forever!

[G R E Y]

Man I miss Pop.

Just read how he did and progressed in four or five months of rehab what others do in nine. That's AMAZING!

Hope he gets some rest and recharges and keeps leveling up.

Hope he's back where he belongs come next training camp. We need him. I have a feeling it's mutual

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/279686/Spurs-Unsure-If-Gregg-Popovich-Will-Be-Able-To-Coach-Next-Season

[G R E Y]

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[G R E Y]

On the Nuggets broadcast, their commentators said someone had seen Pop recently and he looks great.

YYYEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!

The anticipated hoped for expected comeback will be EPIC!

LFG POP!

[G R E Y]

Praying hard and continuously for you, Pop!

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Godspeed for a full recovery!

[G R E Y]

Ok. Really emotional Friday news drop. Six months to the day.

This impression is mitigated to whatever extent I'm aware it's a projection, but you could feel the weight of the decision, the sense of not getting to where desire sought but reality of health pulled back. It isn't a big leap to think this isn't the way Pop would have ideally wanted to transition to solely POBO.

Throughout the recovery he has reiterated a desire to return to coaching, and even in today's announcement, you could feel the bittersweetness of it, could feel the ah **** what if of it.

It sucks that Pop who guided the team through so many highs, then through a tough rebuild, could not taste the sweet fruit of that growth as coach in the playoffs once again.

It's a strange thing about timing and getting to shepherd as coach this far and not beyond, being forced to hand over the reins just as the team is on the cusp of greater success, just as new arena plans and new talent acquisitions are coming together.

Health. Itself the gift. Stands out all the more now. It is surely appreciated all the more, and Pop getting to still contribute and be of service as POBO is an extra benefit.

The effort to return has been by all accounts as resolutely approached as everything Pop has done - with stubborn singleminded focus. Yet the consequences of his health sent other messages. Acceptance of this fate will surely not be an easy internal state.

It may feel unfair and like unfinished business, but the bigger navigation of life in the third act takes precedence. It is not a failure but a getting to have more quality time exchange, something you can never buy more of once it's spent.

You never know why things turn out a certain way at the time. But there's time for getting to see how things unfold, for grace and guidance, for clarity and purpose through it.

I hope Pop feels fulfilled and needed and keeps getting healthier with time on his side.

[G R E Y]

On Monday, May 5th, Spurs held a press conference, one which I've since read, Pop was triple checked with about whether or not he should participate.

He characteristically insisted and did so well despite (perhaps because of) the effects of the stroke still visible, willing himself to be there and support what was forced on him. Nothing easy about all the layers of this.

And by his side, as ever, were Manu and Timmy.

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Pop revealed how they have been there in his recovery workouts every day.

Every. Day.

And so of course the sentiment in the tweet above is multiplied for each day. We've loved them all three for all the glorious basketball reasons, and love them all three all the more for all of this outside the court.

I do think about how things will be for Pop down the road when he's better physically but when the team is on the road in game 38 or whenever. There's a huge inner adjustment to not having that team and locker room camaraderie. Yes Pop has coached 29 years in the NBA, but he coached in college before that. And he played in college before that. And in high school before that, etc. It's really a lifetime's worth of a shift. And when it's forced on you, even as he's had this previous season to adjust, but so much of it has been and will be about recovery, when the recovery becomes a more manageable routine that's a challenge met, well it may get lonely.

Pop does have a strong support system and guys to lean on who've been through the adjustment, and I hope he throws himself into GOAT POBO mode, filling the time with I don't know, journal entries for a book, extra community and charity support, whatever else he had planned to pursue when he had extra time. But he's a doer so feeling fulfilled is itself a challenge.

I'm glad El Hefe is being embraced even if it's an adjustment for Pop along the way. This is also a big adjustment for many who've worked alongside him, like trainer Will Sevening. So many of the Spurs Family were visibly moved on this occasion. Pop has an important role and purpose on the team. I wish for his continued physical recovery which I'll update here as we hear of it, and send ongoing good thoughts for all the nuances we'll likely only get glimpses of, if that, of the inner layers that must necessarily keep being tended to with care as well. Stay ready...

Godspeed.