Mitch Johnson keeps proving the Spurs chose the right coach to follow Gregg Popovich

Mitch Johnson was given a full Thanksgiving-style plate for his first head coaching job in the NBA. He didn't take over a perennially bad team with no expectations. San Antonio is a proud organization with a rich history, and Johnson stepped in on the heels of the greatest coach of all time, Gregg Popovich.

The Seattle native is only 39 years old, making him one of the youngest head coaches in the league, but you wouldn't guess that from his disposition. Mitch seems sure of who he is as a person and a leader. That certainty is the foundation for the Silver and Black's structure. It's a stability needed to juggle the massive responsibilities immediately placed on his shoulders.

Mitch Johnson has fostered a strong environment for growing, winning, and accountability

Being a head coach means you're going to catch a lot of flak, no matter what your decisions are. There's no way to please everyone, so the best thing to do is ignore the noise and just do what's best for the team. Johnson has done that, and we can start with Jeremy Sochan's trajectory.

The ex-Baylor Bear is still searching for a standard contract, but Mitch gave him a chance when he was still wearing the Silver and Black. When Sochan still wasn't showing enough as a starter, Coach Johnson gave him a bench role where he could have become a valuable depth piece. He just didn't fit where the roster was heading, so the Spurs let him go.

Mitch sat Harrison Barnes on the bench after the former Kings forward spent over a decade as a starter, to put a young, undrafted player named Julian Champagnie in the lineup because it was better for the team. Barnes went from Mr. 100% to Mr. Occasional DNP as the team continues to develop its young talent. Carter Bryant gets more minutes because of that.

But the development doesn't come at the expense of winning. We saw that as the Silver and Black made a run to the Finals way sooner than most expected. Plenty in Spurs Nation are rooting for Carter Bryant to take the next step. He's so explosive athletically, and he's such a hellacious defender that it's easy to project him as one of the best 3-and-D guys in the league.

However, he's not there yet, so Mitch doesn't blindly give all of the available minutes to SA's 2025 14th overall pick. Keldon Johnson is too good for that. Fresh off a Sixth Man of the Year award-winning season, KJ is still playing a big role for this team. He should be. You don't bench the better player because you hope the young guy leaps over him.

He's either good enough to command more playing time, or he's not. If and when Bryant reaches that level, fans should have full faith that the Spurs commander will make the right call. But it's impressive that he hasn't been budged by hope or expectation. Mitch Johnson makes his decisions based on what is, instead of what could be.

The Spurs' Finals trip is all the proof we need but there's more

Where has that led this franchise? Under his watch, Stephon Castle won Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama won Defensive Player of the Year, San Antonio played in an NBA Finals, Dylan Harper looks like a star, Champagnie broke the Spurs' single-season three-point record, and De'Aaron Fox is currently playing the most efficient ball of his career.

There's more, but you get the point.

The Spurs chose the right man to follow in Gregg Popovich's footsteps. He's one interim year, one full year, and two weeks into this role. There are a lot of good coaches in the NBA, but you'd be hard-pressed to find three names who you could confidently say would have done better in the same time.

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