Spurs hire Mitch Johnson as head coach

Shortly after Gregg Popovich stepped down, the Spurs found his replacement.

The San Antonio Spurs’ head coaching search didn’t last long. Shortly after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Gregg Popovich would step down as head coach, he tweeted that the Spurs are hiring his replacement, Mitch Johnson.

Johnson acted as the Spurs’ head coach after Popovich left the team in November. He finished the year with a 31-45 record, dealing with injuries to his star players Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. According to Charania, the Spurs prioritized continuity with the Johnson hiring. The through-line was laid out by Popovich, general manager Brian Wright, and CEO RC Buford.

Johnson joined the Spurs in the 2016 offseason, where he spent 3 seasons as an assistant for the Austin Spurs from 2016-2019. He was promoted to join the San Antonio bench in 2020, replacing Tim Duncan after he stepped down as assistant coach. Johnson played four seasons at Stanford University from 2005-2009, and played one season with the Tulsa 66ers G League team.

He’ll replace Popovich, who was away from the team for the majority of the 2024-25 season after suffering a mild stroke on November 2. Charania reports that the coach had been present at the Spurs’ facility recently, but concluded that he could not “move forward with the taxing grind of being an NBA head coach.” He reports that Popovich had been making steady progress from his stroke in November and another health scare in April. Popovich will transition to a new role as the team’s full-time president of basketball operations.