Mitch Johnson is not standing still after one of the most eye-opening rookie coaching runs you’ll ever see. Even after taking one of the league’s youngest teams from the lottery to 62 wins and an NBA Finals appearance, the Spurs coach is still looking for ways to sharpen his edge.
That’s the bigger takeaway from a Hard Knocks clip that’s been circulating on social media. In it, Johnson is seen sharing leadership ideas with Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, with Victor Wembanyama also part of the conversation. The clip was promoted by Adam Schefter on August 11, 2026, ahead of the episode airing on HBO Max.
Macdonald is coming off a Super Bowl title in his second season leading Seattle, and at 39, he’s one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL, just like Johnson is among the youngest in the NBA. It makes sense that the two would be drawn to each other as peers who’ve already reached the top of their sports while still early in their careers.
For Johnson, the message is pretty clear: he knows there’s more to learn.
That matters. Spurs fans have every reason to appreciate a coach willing to seek help outside his own lane.
San Antonio’s run last season was special, but the finish left plenty of room for hard lessons. The NBA Finals dud came after a stretch in which the group appeared to wear down, and some of the blame landed on coaching decisions as well.
Johnson caught heat during the Knicks series for what many saw as mistakes in real time and still view that way now. Timeouts didn’t always come at the right moment to halt momentum, the team sometimes looked shaky without clear direction, and the substitution patterns drew criticism too. He got a lot right during the season, but the final round exposed areas that needed work.
That first trip to the NBA Finals was a shared experience, and the Spurs will be better for it if they truly carry those lessons forward. Victor Wembanyama and the rest of the group have already been in the gym building their game and their chemistry. Johnson is doing his part, too.
He could lean only on the experience of Gregg Popovich and Billy Donovan, but he’s choosing to look beyond that. The NFL and NBA are different worlds, sure, but communication and leadership translate. San Antonio is attacking the offseason from every angle, and Johnson’s willingness to learn is part of why that matters.
In Other News...
Spurs Draft Gamble Around Wembanyama Is Already Raising Red Flags
The Spurs went big in the 2026 NBA Draft, using two late first-round picks on a pair of frontcourt prospects as they continue building around Victor Wembanyama. It was an approach that immediately invited comparisons to their 2022 haul, when two bigs were taken in the 20s before both were eventually traded three years later, a reminder that even promising draft bets can become movable pieces if they do not carve out clear roles.
Jayden Quaintance brings obvious intrigue, but his injury history and limited offensive profile are hard to ignore, while Tarris Reed Jr. will need to prove he can hold up defensively if he wants to stick in San Antonios rotation. Late first-rounders do not often develop into long-term NBA fixtures, which is why the Spurs willingness to double down on that part of the board already feels like a gamble, even if the organization can point to the occasional exception. [Read more 🡒]
Popovichs Brutal Rookie Lesson Still Says Everything About Spurs Culture
Carter Bryants rookie year already offered a reminder of what life in San Antonio can be like under Gregg Popovich: direct, unsparing, and aimed at making a young player better fast. Speaking on The Road Trippin' Podcast, Bryant described Popovich giving him blunt feedback about his game and challenging him to dig deeper into the leagues history for lessons he could use, a pretty classic Spurs development moment for a player still finding his footing.
What stands out is that the message didnt feel like a one-off from a fading voice on the sideline. Popovich stepped down as head coach after the 2024-25 season because of health reasons, with Mitch Johnson taking over, but he stayed with the organization as president of basketball operations and remained around the team during its 2026 NBA Finals run. For Bryant, the lesson was bigger than one jab step or one conversation, and it fit the same Spurs standard that has long valued honesty, accountability and star-level work habits. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Get An Early Chance To Make A Statement Vs Thunder
Opening night hands San Antonio an early measuring stick, and it comes against the same Oklahoma City group that ended the Western Conference Finals rematch with all the built-in edge that brings. The Thunder are back with some roster changes, but the Spurs still get the kind of test that quickly shows whether their new season plans can hold up under pressure.
For San Antonio, the intrigue starts with how it can tilt the game in the margins, especially when the rotations get deeper and the matchup shifts to the second units. The other big question is how the Spurs handle the Thunders defensive anchor and whether their approach against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can keep the game from turning into a night of constant help and recovery. [Read more 🡒]