San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is stepping down from his position and transitioning into the role of president of basketball operations, the team announced Friday, and the decision sends seismic implications through the franchise and the NBA. Popovich has spent 30-plus years with the franchise, including 28-plus consecutive seasons as head coach, and helped turn the Spurs into a model team that others tried to emulate. Popovich has not coached a game since the Spurs beat Utah on Oct. 31. The Spurs later announced he suffered a stroke on Nov. 2, and the 76-year-old did not return to the sideline as the team finished with a 34-48 record under interim coach Mitch Johnson.

Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich will no longer coach the San Antonio Spurs and is transitioning to a full-time role as the team's president of basketball operations, the team announced Friday. Mitch Johnson, who was named acting head coach after Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, takes over head coaching duties permanently. Popovich has been involved with the team and present at San Antonio's facility in recent days, and will continue to be a vital member of the franchise's day-to-day operations, sources told ESPN. As much as he wanted to return to the sideline, he decided that he no longer could move forward with the taxing grind of being an NBA head coach. He has been making steady progress with his health in recovery from the November stroke, sources added.

Over the last year, Popovich has battled health issues, suffering a stroke in November that caused him to leave the team in the hands of an interim coach. But for the rest of his 29-year reign in San Antonio, the crotchety, brilliant and white-bearded figure known as “Pop” turned one of the NBA’s smallest markets into a dominant basketball powerhouse. Popovich led the Spurs to 22 consecutive postseason appearances, winning five championships between 1999 and 2014—the longest title-winning span of any coach with a single franchise.