Steve Kerr, Ime Udoka Wear Epic Gregg Popovich Shirts Ahead of Game 6 Showdown

The two coaches had plenty of praise for Popovich, who stepped down as the Spurs' head coach on Friday.

Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka wore epic Gregg Popovich shirts to honor the Spurs head coach, who stepped down on Friday. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Longtime San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich stepped down from his role as the franchise's head coach on Friday, months removed from a mild stroke that he suffered which caused him to miss most of the season.

Popovich has continued to recover from the stroke, but does not believe that the grueling NBA schedule will allow him to continue the way that he needs to as a coach. He will now move into a role as San Antonio's president of basketball operations.

Ahead of Game 6 of the Western Conference playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets on Friday night, both Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Rockets coach Ime Udoka wore shirts with Popovich squarely in the center.

"Pop is one of the most important people in my life for many, many reasons—most of them have nothing to do with basketball," Kerr said.

“Pop is one of the most important people in my life for many, many reasons — most of them have nothing to do with basketball.”

Steve Kerr opens up his pregame press conference with a tribute to Gregg Popovich 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BcBTHdcWBX

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 2, 2025

Kerr played for Popovich at the end of his career, winning a championship as a member of the Spurs in 2004.

Udoka had plenty of praise for Popovich as well. Udoka served as an assistant on Popovich's Spurs staff earlier in his career.

"Knew this day was coming a while ago," Udoka said. "Glad I got a chance to work with him and glad to call him a friend."

Ime Udoka wearing a Gregg Popovich shirt tonight.

“Knew this day was coming a while ago. Glad I got a chance to work with him. Glad to call him a friend.” pic.twitter.com/3b4u35PFS0

— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) May 2, 2025

Popovich certainly left an imprint on the game of basketball that puts him among the greatest coaches to ever live, with five NBA titles, a Gold Medal as the coach of Team USA, and 1,422 career wins—the most all-time.

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