The San Antonio Spurs announced on Thursday morning that assistant coach Ettore Messina will fill in for head coach Gregg Popovich, whose wife Erin passed away on Wednesday evening.
Messina has been a member of the Spurs’ coaching staff since July of 2014, replacing former coach Mike Budenholzer as Popovich’s ‘right-hand man’ on the sidelines. The world-renowned coach stood in for Popovich in a 121-90 preseason victory over Phoenix in 2014. In 2016, Messina filled in for Popovich over a two game stretch in March and led San Antonio to a 1-1 split in a back-to-back against Indiana and Minnesota.