Despite knowing he got the job several months ago, Monday marked the beginning of Mitch Johnson’s first NBA training camp as San Antonio Spurs head coach.
Johnson acknowledged and embraced the large shadow that his predecessor, five-time NBA champion coach Gregg Popovich, continues to cast.
“I think about him (Popovich) a lot,” Johnson said during Spurs Media Day. “I talk to him also, so he’s still sharing his mentorship and ideas and thoughts and advice.”
Last month, Johnson hired Sean Sweeney as his associate head coach. Former NBA big man Corliss “Big Nasty” Williamson and Scott King, who served as the Austin Spurs’ head coach last season, have also been added as assistant coaches.
“Last year, we didn’t bring any staff in, so there were some opportunities to felt like (sic) we needed to round out the staff and add a few people and we felt really good about the people that we’ve brought in and people that we feel are ‘our’ type of people and about the right stuff,” Johnson said. “And, obviously, their resumes and experience precedes them and their experiences of what they’ve done prior to here but really excited about adding to the group.”
Without Popovich on the sideline, the onus falls on Johnson to set the mood for what is still a largely young roster.
Johnson evaded a question that hinted at what he thought the team’s win-loss or postseason aspirations might be. The Spurs haven’t played playoff basketball since the 2018-19 season.
Instead, the 38-year-old considers the 2025-26 season as “another step” on the road to the Spurs “becoming a more competitive team.”
“It’s my job to set the vision and expectations for the players. And then it’s, you know, their job to bring that to life,” Johnson said. “And so, I think it’s my job to have the clear objectives of what we’re trying to achieve and the outcomes that we’re looking for. I think that’s something that we’re hoping to start tomorrow and feel good about in the next few weeks trying to implement.”
However the upcoming season will play out will come to down to health and “continuity,” as Johnson put it.
While Victor Wembanyama has been fully cleared from a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis that ended his 2024-25 season prematurely, he and guard De’Aaron Fox, who the Spurs acquired on Feb. 2, only shared the court for five games last season.
Regardless of who takes the floor, Johnson said his team will need to be a defensive team first before anything else. The Spurs have finished in the bottom third of the NBA in defensive rating in each of the last three regular seasons.
“I think, for us, to have a base and anchor — which is our defense — it will be on us as a staff to continue to put people in places and situations where they can grow and play together and learn how to play together,“ Johnson said. ”And I think we’re never going to shy away or avoid having too many good players, especially with the amount of versatility and variety of strengths that they have.”
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