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Gregg Popovich has married Mary Budenholzer, the ex-wife of his former assistant coach
Former San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is no longer an eligible bachelor, as the 77-year-old has gotten married to Mary Barth Budenholzer — the ex-wife of his former assistant coach Mike Budenholzer.
The 77-year-old NBA legend, who last coached in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs in 2025, married Mary Barth Budenholzer on September 16 in Texas, according to a marriage license filed in Bexar County.
Former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has gotten married to the ex-wife of his former assistant coach Mike Budenholzer
Mary is the ex-wife of Mike Budenholzer, who spent nearly two decades as Popovich’s assistant coach in San Antonio, helping the Spurs win four championships between 1999 and 2007 before leaving in 2013 to become a head coach.
Given Popovich’s age and the awkward relationship of marrying his former assistant’s ex-wife, the story went viral on social media. Mary and Mike, however, have been divorced for a decade, having split in 2016.
“Nasty nasty work,” read a viral reply from a Barstool Sports personality.
“Is that what turned Budenholzer into an alcoholic?????” an NBA Twitter account crudely joked.
Popovich’s first wife — Erin, whom he married in the mid-1970s while coaching at the Air Force Academy — died at 67 years old on April 18, 2018, after a long illness.
Spurs GM RC Buford said at the time that she was “a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humor to all of us.”
Popovich kept his personal life largely out of public view in the years since, through his final seasons on the Spurs bench and into his 2025 retirement as the winningest coach in NBA history, with five championships with the Spurs.
Since retiring as head coach of the Spurs, Popovich has been serving as the franchise’s President of Basketball Operations. The Spurs are coming off a season in which they won the Western Conference (ultimately losing to the New York Knicks in the Finals) and enter the 2026/27 season as the betting favorites for the title.