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The presumed plan was always for San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan to ride off into the sunset together once the 15-time NBA All-Star decided to call it a career.
Duncan recently revealed he'll be returning for his 19th season in the league, which is plenty of incentive for Popovich to continue manning the sidelines.
The highly respected 66-year-old signed a five-year extension with the franchise during July of last year, a deal in which he fully intends on fulfilling, reports ESPN's Marc Stein.
Popovich eventually backtracked on his stance that he would depart right behind Duncan, mentioning how he made similar commitments to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, and that it would be "pretty tough to go ahead and leave."
San Antonio hasn't had a losing season since 1996-97 when they finished 20-62, which is the year Popovich took over Bob Hill's job as coach following the team's 3-15 start.
The franchise has been a model of consistency since then, winning five NBA Championships with Popovich being named NBA Coach of the Year on three different occasions (2003, 2012, and 2014).
In total, Popovich has accumulated a record of 1022-470 (.685), the third-best winning percentage for a coach with at least 500 games on their resume. It helps that he's had Hall-of-Fame talent to work with along the way, but it still takes a special kind of leader to get that level of excellence out of his players year after year.
He'll still have plenty of talent to work with once the Big 3 era comes to an end, as four-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge recently agreed to terms on a four-year, $80-million deal to join the Spurs. Pairing Aldridge with 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who reportedly agreed to a five-year, $90-million extension, should be enough to continue the winning tradition of Spurs basketball for years to come.
