Michael Malone hopes to see Gregg Popovich back on Spurs’ sideline: “The guy has been a confidant”

Michael Malone’s relationship with longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich began over glasses of wine in Argentina, where they were both traveling for the NBA’s “Basketball without Borders” program in 2005.

At the time, Malone was still eight years away from landing his first head coaching job in the league. But Popovich has advocated for him ever since that shared trip, an experience that has resonated with Malone for 20 years. It was on his mind last Thursday as he reflected on his friendship with Popovich, hours after the 76-year-old announced that he won’t return to the sideline this season. Popovich has been out since Nov. 2 after having a stroke.

“He’s such an interesting person, and I think the reason we hit it off when we spent time down in Argentina years ago was because we talked about everything except basketball,” Malone said. “Getting to know a guy like that, and talking about history and all of his Russian studies and his career path, everything he had gone through and done in his remarkable life — he’s got a great sense of humor. He’s very caring.”

Popovich is the NBA’s longest-tenured active coach and its all-time winningest coach, with 1,412 regular-season victories and 170 more in the playoffs. He has led San Antonio to five championships and six NBA Finals appearances. In a statement released by the Spurs last Thursday, he said he’ll “continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future.”

Malone, who has roamed the Nuggets’ sideline for 10 seasons, credited Popovich with helping him get hired by Cleveland (2005) and New Orleans (2010) as an assistant, en route to his first head coaching job with Sacramento. Now he’s the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league with Denver, behind only Popovich, Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr.

“The guy has been a confidant,” Malone said of Popovich. “Somebody that, even though I never worked for him, has always had my back. So I try to stay in touch with he and his daughter just to let them know that we are all thinking about him. We all know that the game is much better when Coach Pop is on the sideline. He’s one of the greatest to ever do it.”

The Spurs are in 13th place in the Western Conference this season without Popovich, but they’re widely regarded as having a bright future ahead with second-year French center Victor Wembanyama as the centerpiece of the roster. Wembanyama is also out for the remainder of the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.