SAN ANTONIO — Former Spurs coach Stan Albeck reportedly died today. He had spent significant time around the team for the past 19 years after suffering a stroke.
"It is a sad day, and all of our sympathies go out to the family. Loss is difficult and they're going through that right now," said coach Gregg Popovich.
"Coach Albeck wasn't just important to the Spurs, he's what I call a lifer. People like myself don't come close to loving the game the way he did, and his whole family did. They participated in so many ways, and followed him so many places: ABA, NBA, assistant coach, head coach, my gosh, he was an assistant coach for Wilt Chamberlain at one point, and sometimes ended up coaching the games, he loved it," Popovich said.
Albeck's coaching career spanned five decades and took him to a dozen different places. His official duties ended in 2002, but he couldn't stay away from the game, and the Spurs made him feel welcome around the team.
"He'd talk to players, he'd talk to coaches, he'd always have a smile for us, a suggestion or two because he's a coach," Popovich said with a smile. "He'd run a bright light to wherever he was, as either assistant or head coach. He lived a good life."
Popovich spoke about what it meant to have him around the team, and how much his family helped him through a two-decade battle.
"It was a joy and a pleasure for us, but in all honesty they were way more important in supporting him than we were. They're very special people, that was tough duty. He was a trooper, as competitive as he was he never gave in to anything. He wanted to be there, sometimes the words wouldn't come out the way he wanted to, he'd get frustrated. He just a competitive guy, the whole time he went through this, and his family deserves a lot of credit for being there for him."
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