Mitch Johnson’s Spurs surged in his first full season, but the NBA’s Coach of the Year award went to Boston’s Joe Mazzulla. Johnson finished third in the voting, behind Mazzulla and J.B. Bickerstaff, with Johnson’s Spurs tied with Oklahoma City in the Western
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tuesday night came with a familiar kind of countdown: Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. And for Mitch Johnson, it also came with a final tally that didn’t match the size of his turnaround.
The NBA announced that Boston’s Joe Mazzulla won Coach of the Year. Johnson’s Spurs were right in the thick of the postseason race. even with the Thunder thanks in large part to the leadership and strategic choices Johnson made. Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff finished second in the voting, while Johnson placed third.
Johnson wasn’t just in contention. He was the only other coach to receive a first-place vote, collecting nine of them. In a season that has already flipped expectations in San Antonio, that detail landed like confirmation: people saw what he was doing, even if they didn’t crown him.
Johnson’s rise sits on a specific, high-pressure beginning. He took over the Spurs’ head coaching job on an interim basis after legendary Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke last season. Before this year, San Antonio announced that Johnson would be their coach moving forward. Some fans questioned whether the 39-year-old was the right man for the job—especially with his youth and the fact that. before this season. he had never made a playoff run.
Then the season started, and it didn’t take long for Johnson to prove how quickly he belonged at the helm. In the first game of the season, he wore a wire. The moment went viral in the best way when he implored his team to “embrace the mundane” and hammer the details.
That discipline has become the rhythm of the Spurs this year. The team has played intense, connected, relentless basketball—traits that keep showing up when opponents adjust and the margin gets thin.
The scoreboard reflected it. The Spurs vastly overperformed preseason expectations and won 62 games in the regular season. Their total gave them the second-best record in the NBA, behind only the Thunder.
The postseason has followed that same script of preparation meeting pressure. In the Western Conference Finals. Johnson and his staff are credited with making a huge chess move in the game-plan to even the series at two games apiece. After a Game 4 that steadied everything, Johnson explained the logic behind the adjustments.
“Sometimes you have to adjust or react to something that they’re doing. especially at a high rate. if it’s going well for them. ” Johnson said. “Obviously this team is the defending champs. and Mark [Daigneault]’s a hell of a coach. so there’s quite a bit that goes into it. I think there was a 24 hour stretch where if I wasn’t sleeping. I was doing something. trying to be better. or I was in the game. So yeah, selfishly it’s a lot of fun.”.
There’s another reason Johnson’s name keeps drawing attention beyond the award vote: he was the only coach to earn multiple Coach of the Month awards this season. When he won those awards, he shared credit with his staff and the whole organization.
His coaching staff includes Associate Head Coach Sean Sweeney, a defensive standout expected to draw interest from teams with vacancies this summer. Johnson’s bench is rounded out by Corliss Williamson, Scott King, Matt Nielsen, and Mike Noyes. And Popovich—Johnson’s mentor—remains around the team.
Even outside the Spurs’ building, the storyline found its way into public praise after Game 4.
After that Game 4 masterpiece, Lakers legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to give Mitch Johnson his flowers. Magic Johnson wrote: “The San Antonio Spurs were outstanding on defense tonight, holding NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 19 points in their victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
He added that “Victor Wembanyama dominated the game with 33 points,” but said what impressed him most was Wembanyama’s leadership and communication throughout the game. Then Magic Johnson turned directly to the coach.
“I also have to show some love and credit to Spurs’ Head Coach Mitch Johnson, who had a great game plan and made major adjustments from Game 3 to Game 4. The Series is now tied 2-2 and I can’t wait for Game 5 on Tuesday!”
Magic Johnson’s tweets are known for a style that reads like a straight replay—clean, specific, and anchored to what viewers just watched. But he followed that praise with something personal.
“Oh, and a fun fact – I played against Mitch Johnson’s dad, Seattle SuperSonics superstar John Johnson in the Western Conference Finals back in 1980!” Magic Johnson wrote, adding the line twice in the post.
John Johnson is remembered as one of the game’s first point forwards, and Johnson’s father is said to have dubbed his son Mitch “Maestro” when he was young.
On Tuesday night, after his biggest triumph as a coach and before what could be the biggest game of his career, Johnson reflected on hearing those stories from his father’s perspective.
“There’s a lot of stories that I got. unfortunately. over and over and over again. ” he said with a smile. “I was born in 86′ and my dad was done, so that’s all he had, was stories. So I got quite a few of them. he played against obviously guys like Magic. Oscar Robertson. whoever it was. Larry Bird. quite a bit.”.
Mitch Johnson Spurs Coach of the Year voting Joe Mazzulla J.B. Bickerstaff Western Conference Finals Oklahoma City Thunder Game 5 Gregg Popovich Magic Johnson Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Victor Wembanyama Sean Sweeney