Gregg Popovich, who helped the Pacers' Rick Carlisle get started on his path to being a head coach, announced his retirement Friday.

When I took the opportunity to join the Austin Spurs over nine years ago, I had no idea that opportunity was in front of me,” Johnson said at the end of the regular season. A

Some of the key moments in the career of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who stepped down as coach Friday: Saying the team needed a change in direction, general manager Gregg Popovich fired coach Bob Hill and named himself coach on the same day that star center David Robinson was returning to the lineup.