Spurs name Mitch Johnson as new head coach – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

The San Antonio Spurs have named Mitch Johnson as the team’s new head coach.

Johnson becomes the 19th head coach in San Antonio franchise history. He takes over for Gregg Popovich after the Hall of Famer transitioned into the president of basketball operations role following his 29 seasons as head coach. After Popovich stepped away from the team for health reasons five games into last year, Johnson was appointed the Spurs acting head coach for the remaining 77 games of the 2024-25 season.

“We are thrilled for Mitch Johnson to be our next head coach,” said Spurs Managing Partner Peter J. Holt. “Throughout his decade in the organization we have seen that Mitch has the right values, poise and potential to lead us into the future.”

Entering his 10th season with the Spurs, Johnson started with the organization in 2016 as an assistant coach for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, where he helped guide the team to the 2018 G League Championship. He has spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach on Popovich’s staff, including five of those years on the front of the bench after he was promoted in 2020.