There was no ceremony on Sunday afternoon in San Antonio.

But when fans walked into the Frost Bank Center for the Spurs’ home opener on Sunday, a new banner was waiting for them in the rafters.

The white banner, honoring longtime head coach Gregg Popovich, simply reads “Pop” with his wins total beneath it — a mark that still leads the league. There are five small black stars across the top, too, representing the five titles that Popovich won with the organization before he retired officially after last season.

“Very Pop-esque,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, via ESPN. “Obviously, what an honor to have him included with that group. Can’t say enough in terms of 29 years as the head coach, longer with the organization, five championships.

“Everything that you see here or have heard regarding this organization, he has his handprints all over it. Just the amount of dedication, time and energy he put into so many things that [are] never for public consumption or are even known by people in the organization — the players, the importance of everything, how we do everything, the attention to detail, the consistency, the love, blood sweat and tears we put into it.”

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Popovich is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the history of the sport. He took over officially as the Spurs’ head coach in 1996, and he spent nearly three full decades leading the organization. He finished with a 1,390-824 record, which surpassed Don Nelson and made him the winningest head coach in NBA history. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers is the only active head coach in the NBA inside the top 10, but he’s still more than 200 wins away from reaching Popovich.

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Plenty of other current head coaches have worked under Popovich at one point, too — including Rivers, Steve Kerr, Quin Snyder, Ime Udoka and Mike Brown, to name a few. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon was Popovich’s longtime assistant coach, too, and led the team a few times officially in his absence before making the jump to the WNBA. His coaching tree is truly remarkable.

Popovich suffered a stroke at the team’s arena last November, and stepped away from the team to recover. He opted to officially step down in May, though he is still with the franchise as the team’s president. Johnson, who took over on an interim basis, was then promoted to the role full time.

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The Spurs went 34-48 last season. The team hasn’t been to the playoffs or even had a winning season since the 2018-19 campaign. While Popovich is still very much a part of the organization, Johnson has been tasked with carrying on in the role that Popovich has dominated in for decades.

“I’ve been blessed to have [Popovich’s leadership] now for years in a lot of different roles and as our relationship has grown over time,” Johnson said. “But he’s been that for so many people in so many moments and times and situations. It’s one of his special powers for sure.”