In his first season as full-time head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Mitch Johnson is on the precipice of leading them to the postseason for the first time since 2019 and is already a frontrunner for Coach of the Year.
The San Antonio Spurs are firmly in a new era. Of course, one could argue that their current identity kicked off as soon as they drafted Victor Wembanyama, but one of their biggest changes has been largely overlooked.
Last season, after reg Popovich suffered a stroke, Mitch Johnson was thrust into the fire as Popovich's replacement as an interim skipper. Of course, Popovich would later retire, and Johnson would be named the full-time head coach of the Spurs moving forward.
Popovich paced the sidelines for 29 seasons, winning five titles and more games than anyone else. However, as the Spurs march towards the playoffs and the second seed in the Western Conference, the torch has been passed, and even with Pop's influence looming, the Spurs are Johnson's team now.
Victor Wembanyama Praises Mitch Johnson
As soon as Wembanyama arrived in San Antonio, he felt the Popovich effect. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard were all given Pop's best efforts, and he tailored his approach with each player to help get their absolute best game in and game out.
Despite a generational gap between the two, as well as vastly different cultural backgrounds, Popovich and Wembanyama immediately gelled.
One Popovich was incapacitated, Johnson seemed to pick up right where his predecessor left off.
"When he started being the coach, obviously, it was a very troubled time for our organization," reflected Wembanyama. "And I've always thought he was good, but I have seen a great leap from him, in my opinion."
Now that Johnson has been handed the reins, has his own roster to work with, and is calling the shots, the Spurs have seen newfound confidence in their leader, and the once-promising emergency hire is now one of the best coaches in the NBA.
"After he started his first season full-time as a coach, I think he's just taking his job with a lot of humility and a will to learn," added the superstar. "He knows us so well from being around us, not as a head coach at first, but as an individual coach. He knows his guys so much that he knows how to talk to us. When he speaks, it's never for nothing, you know. He's always on point."
As the Spurs reached 50 wins for the first time since 2017, it's no wonder Johnson is third in Coach of the Year odds, behind only Detroit's JB Bickerstaff and Boston's Joe Mazzulla.