Mitch Johnson walked into the office of San Antonio Spurs general manager Brian Wright in late April of last year for a meeting that would change his life and the history of the franchise.

Waiting in the office were Wright, Spurs owner Peter J. Holt, team president R.C. Buford and, last and most importantly, Gregg Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history. It was an emotional passing of the torch from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach to the relatively unknown Johnson, who was set to officially become the 19th head coach in Spurs history.

While every coaching legend at some point must say goodbye, “Coach Pop” certainly left Wright and Johnson big shoes to fill.

“We sat in the room with him and gave him the good news,” Wright recently told Andscape, recalling the moment Johnson learned he was the Spurs’ new head coach. “And it was an emotional celebratory time for everyone because he had a really strong bond and relationship with ‘Pop,’ being there with him on his staff and obviously the relationship we had built over the last eight or nine years.

“And then just that transition is emotional for everyone involved. So, it was a happy emotional. It was a celebratory emotional. But it was emotional on all parts.”

Popovich coached the Spurs to five NBA championships and is the only coach in San Antonio history to lead the franchise to the Finals. Tonight, Johnson will face the toughest coaching challenge of his young head coaching career in hopes of ultimately giving Popovich championship company.

Johnson, 39, had a stellar first season in which he led the Spurs to a 62-20 regular-season record and advanced to the Western Conference finals. Now, however, his team is down 3-2 in the conference finals against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

“To beat a team of this caliber in their building with the stakes, we’ll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance,” Johnson said after the Spurs’ 127-114 loss to the host Thunder in Game 5 on Tuesday.

With championship dreams on the line, San Antonio hosts the Thunder tonight in its first win-or-go-home game of the postseason. While Popovich will never be forgotten, Wright said Johnson has done a “phenomenal job” leading the Spurs back to relevance and title contention.

The Spurs missed the NBA playoffs from 2019-25 after reaching the postseason for 22 consecutive seasons beginning in 1998. Wright inherited a roster that included the NBA’s most intriguing young star in 7-foot-4 All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, two-time NBA All-Star De’Aaron Fox, 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and heralded rookie Dylan Harper. Johnson, who was a finalist for 2026 NBA Coach of the Year, flourished, coaching the Spurs to their first Western Conference finals since 2017.

So, what was the key to Johnson’s rookie coaching success?

“He’s incredibly poised,” Wright said. “He’s been blessed with an understanding of people, understanding of the moment that we’re in, an understanding of what to say and how to deliver a message. [He knows] how to motivate, how to push guys, but also how to give guys a level of respect, a level of love and a level of confidence to where they go out every night and they play hard for each other, and they play hard for themselves; they play hard for their teammates. And it’s been really fun to watch. This is the first year with the new staff, and he’s done a phenomenal job.

“A lot of Year 1 coaches are trying to prove to you that they can do everything. I think just his internal self-belief in himself, he can delegate, he can empower guys to take on roles, he can think differently about how he wants to do things. And I think it speaks a lot to his confidence in himself and in the group that he assembled to go help this team on the court.”

Just like Popovich, Johnson was not a former NBA player or household name when he was promoted to Spurs head coach on May 2, 2025.

Johnson, a Seattle native, is the son of John Johnson, a two-time NBA All-Star who played 12 seasons and won an NBA title with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. The younger Johnson was a four-year starter at Stanford University from 2005-09, playing alongside future NBA players Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez and Landry Fields.

Fields said he could tell during their time in Palo Alto that Johnson had the makings of a head coach.

“From the first few times I met him, I could always tell there was always something different about him in how he led,” Fields told Andscape. “He was a natural leader. Not a ton of rah-rah. He didn’t overexplain things. He always took charge on the court. Not to say I thought he’d be an NBA head coach, but I’m not surprised. But he has a gravity about him. He is a natural leader and so smart with the game.

“If you sit with him in that point in time and watch an NBA game, the things he would say and recall and say in passing, you could tell his grasp for the game was incredibly high. And his superpower was being able to relate with players or anyone of any background. You can put him in a room with wealthy owners or young athletes and he can connect at all levels.”

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.

Johnson joined the Spurs’ organization in 2016 as an assistant coach for the G League Austin Toros and was promoted to Popovich’s bench in 2019.

“During 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.,” Wright said. “And he understood the whole operation. I’d 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.

“And once you got to see it in person every single day, you started [to say], ‘Oh man, there’s a lot there. He’s got a real chance at this.’ At that point in time, you’re 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.”

Fields, who was Austin Toros general manager during the 2019-20 season, said: “I was watching Mitch navigate coaching, and how fast he succeeded at it wasn’t a surprise at all. Brian Wright recognized something early in him to put on track to be a head coach.”

For 29 years, Popovich led one of the most successful runs in NBA coaching history.

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’s 229 and Pat Riley’s 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.

Popovich, however, missed all but five games last season, having suffered a mild stroke at the Spurs’ 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.

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.

“When he started being the coach, obviously it was very troubled times for our organization,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve 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’s just taken his job with a lot of humility and will to learn. …

“He 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’s always on point.”

Said Spurs veteran forward Harrison Barnes about Johnson: “Mitch stepped in and he had it. We’ve 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’t know what he is talking about. I’ve had full trust in him. I’d run through a wall for him.

“There 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’ve seen from a coaching standpoint, to be able to shoulder the unexpected. Pop is an institution in this league; he’s 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’ve seen from coaches.”

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.

Former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown, now the New York Knicks’ 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.

But ultimately, the Spurs made the unique choice in Johnson, who had never been a permanent head coach.

“In an unfortunate incident, you’re forced to make the decision to hire someone new,” Wright said. “We 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 ‘Pop.’ But we also got to see [Johnson] do it firsthand internally.

“Day 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.”

Johnson’s 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 New York 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.

Though the Thunder had a better record at the time, Mark Daigneault couldn’t 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.

“The accomplishment is a team thing,” Johnson said after receiving the honor. “My 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.

“There are moments where I’m sitting on the bench and looking at who is there with me or I’m in the locker room and that will be a really memorable moment and experience that I’m going to come to peace with, that I’m going to enjoy.”

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.

“I don’t think, for him personally, it was like a feather in his cap,” Wright said. “But he’s competitive, and you want to go out there and perform. You want to go out there and win every game, and it’s 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’re all just that game, but we’re all incredibly competitive, and I know getting the team ready for that and being able to have that honor, I’m sure that meant something to him.”

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.

“Mitch is the definition of preparation meets opportunity,” Barnes said. “Because of my time in different organizations, I’ve seen a lot of coaches. But I’ve 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’t hesitate. He isn’t unsure of himself. He puts a timeline.”

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.

“We do things a little bit different than [last season],” Keldon Johnson said. “But I feel like Mitch has always enforced kind of what he’s wanted from us and what he wanted to see from us. So, I don’t think things have changed in that manner. I think we do things [at] a lot more technical, a lot more intense level. …

“He doesn’t care what the score is. He is coaching what he sees. Obviously, if he doesn’t like what he sees he’s going to let us know about it no matter what five are on the court. … We all appreciate what he does for us. He keeps us locked in and he doesn’t let us take any plays off. That is going to help us.”

The latest challenge for Mitch Johnson is proving himself on the playoff stage.

The Spurs finished the regular season as the West’s No. 2 seed and with the NBA’s second-best record. A pair of 11-game win streaks helped them go 27-2 over a 29-game stretch starting in February and ending in April. San Antonio’s 62 wins were the most for the franchise since winning 67 during the 2015-16 season. It set the stage for the playoff debuts of key Spurs players such as Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson — and their coach.

In the franchise’s first postseason game since April 27, 2019, Mitch Johnson coached the Spurs to a 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio on April 19. The Spurs defeated the Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road to the West finals.

“The last time that San Antonio was in the playoffs, I was in Austin,” Johnson said April 1. “So, I was never a part of the playoffs directly. So, for me, it’s part idea, part responsibility and obligation … that I feel [as] part of this organization, knowing what we felt we needed to do to get back to the level of competitiveness we established for quite some time. Not being part of that time put probably more of an onus on myself to make sure I did my part to carry my weight.”

While it’s Johnson on the Spurs’ sideline now, Popovich will never be forgotten. His presence is always felt, and he is still mentoring his prodigy.

To Popovich’s chagrin, the Spurs have a banner hanging in the rafters at Frost Bank Center that reads “Pop. 1,390 [wins]. Hall of Fame.” He is often at Spurs practices and games, available to talk to Johnson and players. The 77-year-old also gave the Spurs’ players a lecture after they lost 123-108 to the Thunder in Game 3 in San Antonio to fall behind 2-1 in the West finals.

“He’s always discussing the moment and how there are always important takeaways that might not be on the surface level or that may not be necessarily based on the game last night,” Johnson said. “And whatever that takeaway that you are discussing and focusing on could be something that leads to really important things in the future.

“I think that is where Coach Pop has always been so brilliant, in my opinion, is his ability to extrapolate and filter out important information without making it some heavy gem. And it ends up becoming that, right? But he’s also tried to make sure you’re not skipping steps. You’re not too big out of a situation, because tomorrow is just as big, and it might be an off day that we have to go watch film on. So, I think ability to have that perspective has helped me tremendously over time.”

Wright said Johnson could not have a better mentor or someone to call than he has in Popovich.

“Pop’s been great. He’s just seen everything, done everything, and to be able to have that person that you can call on, that person that is going to call on you even when you may not want to call, or you just had lost the game, he’s going to call and pick you up,” Wright said.

It won’t be a surprise to see Popovich, Duncan, Robinson and Ginobili at the crucial game tonight in San Antonio. But this is also a night when the Spurs’ success can add another shining moment if Johnson, Wembanyama and company keep their Finals hopes alive. The Spurs have not advanced to the NBA Finals since 2014.

While the possibility of a trip to the Finals — where the New York Knicks await — is hard to ignore, Johnson has built a reputation for keeping his players focused on the moment, no matter the stakes.

“We’ve done a pretty good job all year, even when our record was 0-0 or 2-1 or whatever we were,” Jonnson said. “We have done a good job all year of just being where our feet are at. I think we’ve always acknowledged and discussed what we’re walking out of, and we haven’t avoided or tried to give too much power into what’s ahead of us, because we can’t control it.

“I think that’s allowed us to not ride the emotions and the circumstances of the season, because they’re just so long and there’s so many things at play that you can’t control that work for and against you at times depending on the situation.”

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