Mitch Johnson’s first full season as the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach gave the franchise something it had to have: proof that he can handle the job. It also gave him a clear list of places where he has to sharpen up, especially when the game tightens and every possession starts to feel like a trap.
The Spurs have already made a point of helping him with the bench around him. Last season, Sean Sweeney served as San Antonio’s defensive coordinator.
This year, Billy Donovan is in the mix, and he could give the offense a real jolt. That kind of support matters, but the bigger question still comes back to Johnson himself and how much he grows from what happened in the NBA Finals.
There was plenty to like about Johnson’s work in his first full year, but the late-game management drew heat for a reason. His crunch-time decision-making was shaky, and some of the biggest complaints centered on how he leaned too hard on De’Aaron Fox even when Fox was struggling late in games. He also didn’t get enough out of Dylan Harper, and there were stretches where Victor Wembanyama was not the focal point when San Antonio needed him most.
That showed up in the way he handled specific Finals moments. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Johnson had two chances to draw up plays that could have helped the Spurs steal a key win, but both times he settled on isoplays for Wembanyama. Then came Game 4, when San Antonio suffered a historic meltdown against the New York Knicks, a loss that also landed at Johnson’s feet.
Now the Spurs are trying to build something bigger, and Johnson’s development is part of that. In preseason, he has started De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper together with Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama as the team looks to maximize its three-point-guard setup. If Johnson can figure out how to make that group work, San Antonio could jump a level fast.
But that depends on more than talent. The Spurs need better execution when games are on the line, and Johnson has to show he can draw up cleaner answers in those moments. Last season’s playoff collapse exposed San Antonio’s biggest flaw, and a more experienced coach with a deeper roster is supposed to help erase it.
If Johnson’s growth matches the promise of Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, and Fox, the Spurs will have something dangerous. If he can turn the lessons from the Finals into better late-game coaching, San Antonio’s ceiling changes in a hurry.
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Spurs Lineup Experiment Has One Clear Threat To Its Upside
The Spurs are trying something a little different with a starting group built around point guards, and the early shape of it makes one thing immediately clear: the whole idea only works if the perimeter shot comes around. San Antonio has leaned into the creativity and ball-handling that DeAaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle can bring, but the spacing has to hold up for that lineup to function the way the coaching staff wants it to.
Preseason numbers offer a mixed read on that front, which is why the experiment feels both intriguing and fragile at the same time. There is also the practical issue of how the Spurs hold up on the glass against bigger teams, and Mitch Johnson has already left himself room to adjust if the look starts creating more problems than it solves. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Still Need To Sort Out One Big Answer For West Matchups
The Spurs have spent the preseason looking for a practical answer to the larger lineups they will see throughout the Western Conference, and Tarris Reed Jr. keeps coming up as the most natural fit for that role. His value is tied to what he can do around the rim and in the paint, where San Antonio needs someone who can match up with size without forcing the rest of the roster into awkward compromises.
Reeds challenge now is less about the idea and more about the transition from preseason moments to regular-season demands. The Spurs have the flexibility to mix and match around him, but if they want that interior presence to actually matter against physical opponents, he needs early minutes and a chance to settle into the pace and pressure of real games. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Center Depth Just Took A Very Unusual Turn
Victor Wembanyama has owned the title of NBAs tallest player, but that distinction is headed for a change in the 2026-27 season with Tacko Fall back in the league on a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Fall, listed at 7-foot-6, is part of a strange little wave of giant reinforcements across the league, with rookie Aday Mara landing in Oklahoma City at 7-3 and Zach Edey set to return for Memphis after injury.
For the Spurs, it is another reminder of just how rare Wembanyama is, even in a league that keeps finding new ways to stockpile size. Jamarion Sharp, who measures 7-5, was waived by Toronto and could wind up in the G League, so the coming season still has room for more height drama, even if the spotlight on the tallest player in the sport is about to shift. [Read more 🡒]