Johnson is a former Stanford guard who started all four years for the Cardinal.<\/p>\nLisa Blumenfeld\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After going undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft, Mitch Johnson played in the NBA G League and in Europe before starting his coaching career in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and also serving on the staff of the University of Portland during the 2015-16 season. <\/p>\n
Johnson joined the Spurs\u2019 organization in 2016 as an assistant coach for the G League Austin Toros and was promoted to Popovich\u2019s bench in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring his time in Austin, you saw how quickly he grew and understood the program from year one to year two, year two to year three, etc.,\u201d Wright said. \u201cAnd he understood the whole operation. I\u2019d spend time with him, other people would spend time with him, and you saw the growth. Once he was with us in the NBA bubble [in 2020] and just seeing how he could relate to guys and build relationships and teach and do all those things on the floor in the [player development] space, you started to see all the areas with which he had grown as a coach beyond just player development in his time at Austin.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd once you got to see it in person every single day, you started [to say], \u2018Oh man, there\u2019s a lot there. He\u2019s got a real chance at this.\u2019 At that point in time, you\u2019re probably not even thinking about the Spurs as much, with Pop coaching so long. But you saw [Johnson] as a guy that had a real chance to be an NBA head coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fields, who was the Austin Toros general manager during the 2019-20 season, said: \u201cI was watching Mitch navigate coaching, and how fast he succeeded at it wasn\u2019t a surprise at all. Brian Wright recognized something early in him to put on track to be a head coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
For 29 years, Popovich led one of the most successful runs in NBA coaching history.<\/p>\n
He won an NBA-record 1,390 regular-season games, all with the Spurs. He won 170 playoff games, the most by any coach with one team and the third-most overall behind only Phil Jackson\u2019s 229 and Pat Riley\u2019s 171. The three-time NBA Coach of the Year took over the Spurs on Dec. 10, 1996, and led the franchise to championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 while coaching future Hall of Famers David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.<\/p>\n
Popovich, however, missed all but five games last season, having suffered a mild stroke at the Spurs\u2019 arena on Nov. 2, 2024. He took a leave of absence, and Johnson was named acting head coach for the final 77 games of the 2024-25 campaign. <\/p>\n
Popovich said in a statement in March 2025 he hoped to return to coaching, but in the meantime, Wembanyama and his teammates quickly gained confidence in Johnson as their head coach and leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he started being the coach, obviously it was very troubled times for our organization,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI\u2019ve always thought [Johnson] was good, but I have seen a great leap from him in my opinion after he started his first season full time as a coach. He\u2019s just taken his job with a lot of humility and will to learn. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows us so well from being around us, not as a head coach at first, but as an individual coach. He knows these guys so much that he knows how to talk to us, and it feels like he never wastes time when he speaks. He\u2019s always on point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Spurs veteran forward Harrison Barnes about Johnson: \u201cMitch stepped in and he had it. We\u2019ve had a lot of conversations about a lot of different things. Never once did I feel like the moment might be too big, [or that] he doesn\u2019t know what he is talking about. I\u2019ve had full trust in him. I\u2019d run through a wall for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no playbook for midseason changes in the case of what it was and the gravity of what it was. To be able to do that, that was one of the most impressive things I\u2019ve seen from a coaching standpoint, to be able to shoulder the unexpected. Pop is an institution in this league; he\u2019s not just a coach. To be able to fill those shoes in that moment, build off of it [this season] and to not miss a beat to command a locker room, that is one of the most impressive things I\u2019ve seen from coaches.\u201d<\/p>\nVictor Wembanyama (left) on Mitch Johnson (right): \u201cHe\u2019s just taken his job with a lot of humility and will to learn.\u201d <\/p>\nZach Beeker\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Primarily under Johnson, the Spurs finished the 2024-25 season with a 34-48 record and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. As that season ended, the optimism for Popovich returning to the bench waned, and speculation about replacements began.<\/p>\n
Former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown, now the New York Knicks\u2019 head coach, was a free agent at the time. There was speculation that Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy and then-New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego, both former San Antonio assistants, could be targets.<\/p>\n
But ultimately, the Spurs made the unique choice in Johnson, who had never been a permanent head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an unfortunate incident, you\u2019re forced to make the decision to hire someone new,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe were able to really dive deep into what we thought could work. And we obviously had the greatest image of that for the last 25 years with 20, 30 years with \u2018Pop.\u2019 But we also got to see [Johnson] do it firsthand internally.<\/p>\n
\u201cDay to day, walk that walk with him over the last X number of games of last season and then measure that against what his vision was for how we go forward. And that made that part pretty easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s Spurs opened this season strong, winning eight of their first 10 games and entering the new year 24-9, though a 124-113 loss to the Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game provided some adversity. On Feb. 6, Johnson was named the NBA Western Conference head coach for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game after guiding the Spurs to a 33-16 record.<\/p>\n
Though the Thunder had a better record at the time, Mark Daigneault couldn\u2019t coach the West in the All-Star Game this year because he coached at the event in 2025. Johnson joined Popovich as the only Spurs coaches to ever coach the West All-Stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accomplishment is a team thing,\u201d Johnson said after receiving the honor. \u201cMy team performance is myself and my staff are going to be [in Los Angeles] for the All-Star Game. And that is 100 percent a team-centric outcome and circumstance. Obviously, being the one that is named head coach and the experience there, there will be some self-centered moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are moments where I\u2019m sitting on the bench and looking at who is there with me or I\u2019m in the locker room and that will be a really memorable moment and experience that I\u2019m going to come to peace with, that I\u2019m going to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\nSpurs general manager Brian Wright (right) attributes Mitch Johnson\u2019s first-year coaching success to his poise.<\/p>\nMichael Gonzales\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
While Johnson shies from the spotlight, talks team-first and expresses humility, Wright said the competitive head coach actually relished being named the West All-Star coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think, for him personally, it was like a feather in his cap,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut he\u2019s competitive, and you want to go out there and perform. You want to go out there and win every game, and it\u2019s an incredible honor and to do that in Year 1. It speaks volumes to what they did. And look, every game you go out and play, they\u2019re all just that game, but we\u2019re all incredibly competitive, and I know getting the team ready for that and being able to have that honor, I\u2019m sure that meant something to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barnes has been coached by an impressive list of floor generals that include Roy Williams in college at North Carolina, Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr, Rick Carlisle, Luke Walton, Alvin Gentry and Popovich in the NBA and Mike Krzyzewski with USA Basketball. While that list includes current and future Hall of Famers, Johnson has already made a strong mark on Barnes with his direct coaching and leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch is the definition of preparation meets opportunity,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cBecause of my time in different organizations, I\u2019ve seen a lot of coaches. But I\u2019ve never seen a first-year coach be able to step in and seamlessly command the respect of the locker room but also have the messaging be on point. He doesn\u2019t hesitate. He isn\u2019t unsure of himself. He puts a timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson also noted he respects how the Spurs coach holds players accountable no matter the score or who they are. For example, Mitch Johnson told the media after Game 5 of the Western Conference finals that Wembanyama needs to shoot more after a lackluster performance. Also, Johnson nearly brought rookie forward Carter Bryant to tears in Game 4 after he strongly reprimanded him for a bad turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do things a little bit different than [last season],\u201d Keldon Johnson said. \u201cBut I feel like Mitch has always enforced kind of what he\u2019s wanted from us and what he wanted to see from us. So, I don\u2019t think things have changed in that manner. I think we do things [at] a lot more technical, a lot more intense level. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t care what the score is. He is coaching what he sees. Obviously, if he doesn\u2019t like what he sees he\u2019s going to let us know about it no matter what five are on the court. \u2026 We all appreciate what he does for us. He keeps us locked in and he doesn\u2019t let us take any plays off. That is going to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest challenge for Mitch Johnson is proving himself on the playoff stage.<\/p>\n
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