Spurs' Stephon Castle Reveals Gregg Popovich's Playoff Advice

The San Antonio Spurs are in the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season - and for the first time without Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich since 1996.

Last May, Popovich, 77, officially stepped away from coaching and transitioned into serving as the Spurs’ president of basketball operations. Popovich had suffered a “mild stroke” in November 2024 and endured what was described as a “medical incident” last April.

The second-seeded Spurs are set to take on the seventh-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday night. Mitch Johnson is the Spurs’ head coach now, but Popovich still has players’ ears.

According to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Popovich addressed the team on Wednesday.

"Just to be us [and] not to really do anything different from what we've been doing all season,” Spurs guard and reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle said of Popovich’s message. "I think he kind of just gave us another perspective on how well we've been playing and the position we've put ourselves in. So, just keep doing what we've been doing to get in those spots."

Spurs veteran forward Keldon Johnson shared that Popovich is “doing great” and contacts him every other day.

“He’s very encouraging, telling me that he’s proud of me and things like that," Johnson said. "I mean, he's definitely still himself. He’s still sharp. He’s still very much Pop. He has not skipped a beat at all.”

The Spurs finished the regular season at 62-20, the second-best record in the NBA, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder at 64-18.

San Antonio is an overwhelming favorite to dispatch Portland and would face either No. 3 Denver or No. 6 Minnesota in the following round. The Spurs are a popular pick to meet the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, but it’s nearly impossible to gauge the Spurs until they play their first playoff game. Most of the rotation has never played one.

Popovich spent his entire coaching career with the Spurs, first as an assistant before becoming head coach in 1996. The three-time Coach of the Year led the Spurs to five championships and walked away with a 1,390-824 overall record.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 4:57 PM.