LeBron James said the Lakers' NBA Cup game against the Spurs on Friday is secondary to Gregg Popovich's recovery from a “minor stroke” on Nov. 2.
After recording his third consecutive triple-double in Wednesday's 128-123 win over the Grizzlies, James only wanted to talk about his “dear friend Coach Pop,” not his upcoming matchup with the Spurs.
“But for me personally, there's even bigger news out of San Antonio right now, and that's my dear friend Coach Pop.” said james After the Lakers rallied to defeat the Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena, according to Fox. “And I'll be thinking about him a lot while I travel there tomorrow for Friday's game.
“And I wish him good health and hopefully I'll see him soon. I don't even have to be on the sidelines. Hopefully I'll see him soon. That's the most important thing to me.”
Popovich, 75, had an undisclosed health issue that caused him to miss the Nov. 2 win over the Timberwolves.
The Spurs revealed Tuesday that Popovich suffered a “mild stroke” earlier this month at the team's arena, Frostbank Center, and has already begun a rehabilitation program.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Popovich sent the following message to his team during his recovery process: don't worry about me. ”
Spurs general manager Brian Wright said Popovich, who is in his 29th season at the helm, is “doing well” but has not determined when he will return.
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“It's up to all of us to do our part, do our part, lean on each other, support each other and continue to be there for each other. And we look forward to the day we can welcome him back.” Masu.” light said before Wednesday's game. “But it takes a village and we're all committed to it. But most importantly, we're making sure he has everything he needs and we're working hard to recover.” We are committed to giving him the time and space to continue and we look forward to having him back.”
Mitch Johnson, 37, was named interim head coach during Popovich's absence.
“He doesn't feel well.” Mr Johnson said at that time. “This has happened before. I think everyone always has to be ready for the next guy. We've had injuries, sometimes we get sick, we don't feel well, something happens in our lives. Sometimes it happens. He just doesn't feel good.”
Johnson is the son of former Seattle SuperSonic forward John Johnson.
