Keldon Johnson’s season gave the Spurs exactly what they needed from a bench piece and then some.
San Antonio’s starting group did plenty of heavy lifting, but Johnson was the reserve who stood out most over the regular season. His work earned him NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors, a fitting reward for a year built on production and availability.
He played in all 82 games for the Spurs, the first time in his career he reached that mark, and he did it without making a single start. That didn’t stop him from piling up another big scoring season. Johnson cleared 1,000 points in the regular season for the fourth time, and this was the first time he did it without being a primary starter for San Antonio.
The numbers around him were strong, too. Johnson finished with just under 450 rebounds and more than 150 assists, the kind of all-around line that explains why he was recognized as the league’s most valuable bench contributor.
That regular-season impact also helps frame his place on the roster going forward. Even after moving out of the starting five from his earlier years, Johnson still looks like an important part of what the Spurs want to build.
The postseason, though, told a different story. In his first career playoff appearance, Johnson dipped from roughly 20 points per game to just under 16. As the playoffs went on, he became less of a factor for opponents to worry about.
That carried into the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, where Johnson finished with only seven points across five games, even while logging nearly 15 minutes per contest.
Still, the playoff drop-off does not appear to put his future with San Antonio in danger. He just picked up an individual award, one of only two Spurs to do so, and he was a major reason the team got back into relevance this season while also providing a bright spot in a dark stretch for the franchise.
The Spurs would obviously like more from him if they get back to the postseason next year. But that expectation isn’t unique to Johnson. After falling short, every player on the roster has room to improve.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Face A Real De'Aaron Fox Contract Problem
De'Aaron Fox gave the Spurs the kind of postseason burst they were hoping for at the start, but the finish line looked a lot different. His play tailed off in the Western Conference Finals and then dropped again in the NBA Finals, enough to revive the old concerns that have followed him into San Antonio: whether the speed that made him such a dangerous guard is starting to fade, and whether that matters even more now that the games are at their biggest.
It is not just a short-term wobble, either. Fox is on a max deal worth $221.7 million over the next four years, and that kind of money changes the conversation fast when the production is uneven. Around the league, his contract has already drawn harsh reviews, which leaves the Spurs with a tricky question as they build around Victor Wembanyama: if Fox is not quite the co-star they envisioned, what exactly is the best way to use him? [Read more 🡒]
Julian Champagnie's Extension Signals A Bigger Spurs Squeeze Is Coming
Julian Champagnies new extension is another sign the Spurs are trying to thread a very narrow financial needle as they build around Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. San Antonio chose a three-year, $45 million commitment rather than a longer one, a tell that the front office is already planning for the cap squeeze that comes with keeping a young core intact while preserving room for future moves.
The bigger picture is less about Champagnie alone than the way the Spurs are staggering contract decisions to avoid painting themselves into a corner. Every extension, every expiration date and every roster choice now has to fit a long-range plan, and that means the team is weighing how much flexibility it can afford to give up before the next wave of decisions arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Suddenly Face A Massive De'Aaron Fox Decision
With Victor Wembanyama now locked in on an extension, the Spurs are already looking ahead to the next phase of roster building, and that has put De'Aaron Fox squarely in the middle of the conversation. San Antonio is weighing whether to keep the guard as part of the core or use him as a way to reshape the roster and trim money, a decision that says as much about the teams long-term direction as it does about Foxs fit.
Brandon Ingram has surfaced as a possible target in that kind of shuffle, giving the Spurs a very different type of offensive piece to consider around Wembanyama. The idea is still fluid, and the larger question is whether San Antonio wants to lean into continuity with Fox or pivot toward a different lineup balance as the front office keeps sorting through its options. [Read more 🡒]