May 3, 2025: GREGG POPOVICH stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA, Basketball Herren, USA championships, become the league s all-time wins leader and earn induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. FILE PHOTO: April 6, 2023: San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks to the media before an NBA basketball game between the Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers. Austin USA - ZUMAc201 20250503_shc_c201_276 Copyright: xScottxColemanx
May 3, 2025: GREGG POPOVICH stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA, Basketball Herren, USA championships, become the league s all-time wins leader and earn induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. FILE PHOTO: April 6, 2023: San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks to the media before an NBA basketball game between the Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers. Austin USA - ZUMAc201 20250503_shc_c201_276 Copyright: xScottxColemanx
It has come to light that Former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has remarried. That’s not where the story ends. The NBA legend has tied the knot with his former longtime assistant Mike Budenholzer’s ex-wife. The NBA world doesn’t know how to react to that.
Budenholzer spent nearly 20 years under Pop, helping the Spurs win four titles, making them an iconic duo.
According to a marriage license obtained by TMZ, Popovich has tied the knot with Mary Barth Budenholzer, formerly known as Mrs. Mike Budenholzer, who worked very closely with Coach Pop to win four NBA Championship rings for the Spurs.
BKN-SPURS-LAKERS Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, left, is held back by assistant coach Mike Budenholzer after a foul call on the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of their NBA, Basketball Herren, USA basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, April 4, 2010. Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/Presna-Internacional/Landov/MCT LOS ANGELES CA USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx 1086933 ADRIANxSANCHEZ-GONZALEZx krtphotoslive410531
BKN-SPURS-LAKERS Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, left, is held back by assistant coach Mike Budenholzer after a foul call on the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of their NBA, Basketball Herren, USA basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, April 4, 2010. Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/Presna-Internacional/Landov/MCT LOS ANGELES CA USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx 1086933 ADRIANxSANCHEZ-GONZALEZx krtphotoslive410531
The newly married couple were spotted at multiple Spurs games last season, per NBACentral's X post. However, no one had any clue about their relationship.
Back in 2016, Mike and Mary quietly divorced. On the other hand, Pop lost his first wife in 2018, Erin Popovich, after battling an undisclosed severe illness.
It was a marriage of 41 years for Coach Pop, and they had two children, Jill and Mickey.
Mary and Mike raised four children together during his 20 years as Pop's assistant.
After their time at Spurs, Bud headed for the Atlanta Hawks. He again jumped ship to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he added another title to his name in 2021, this time as head coach.
Pop and Bud’s golden era with the Spurs seems like a long time ago now. Pop became the Spurs President of Basketball Operations, and it's been a year since Bud was seen on the sidelines.
Coach Pop’s second marriage has added another story to the tale.
The coach-assistant bond
After the pair won four titles together, Budenholzer was headed to the Atlanta Hawks in 2013. Coach Pop was nothing but proud of his assistant.
“I couldn’t be happier for Mike for many reasons. As anyone who’s been part of this program knows, he has been more of a co-head coach than an assistant for a long time," said Popovich, per NBA's report.
In 2015, when Budenholzer was named NBA Coach of the Year, he made sure to acknowledge Coach Pop’s importance in his journey.
“The thing that Pop did for me, and did for a lot of coaches, is he let me coach. It seems really simple," Budenholzer said. "That is part of the beauty of being around Pop. Sometimes the things that are most successful are very simple.”
No matter what route their personal bond takes after the remarriage, their time together at Spurs will always remain etched in NBA history.
Written by
Avishek Sarkar