Keldon Johnson is Tearing Through the League -- and Spurs' Records

Before the season, many San Antonio Spurs fans were hoping for Keldon Johnson to make a huge jump. If the last few weeks are any indication, he's well on his way to doing just that.

The third-year forward is having a career season in an increased role on the rebuilding squad, and it's been a beautiful sight to behold. The most encouraging takeaway from Johnson's improvement has been the fact that he's taking these jumps at such a young age and so early into his career.

As the Spurs shared a few days ago, he's the second-youngest Spur to ever reach 2,000 career points for the franchise.

Wednesday's narrow victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder was the 150th game for Keldon, and he joined some elite company with what he's done in that span as well.

The list of other players that have tallied those stats in their first 150 games includes Luka Doncic, Paul Pierce, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis.

Johnson's increased scoring this season (16.4 points per game) also put him in company with only Kawhi Leonard when it comes to performance over a season. He did this with 12 games still left in the 2021-22 campaign, by the way:

Keldon's miraculous 3-point proficiency has been the key

For much of last season, we frequently called for Keldon to add a skill other than strong drives to his offensive arsenal to unlock his full potential. He's since answered the call dramatically, shooting 41.1% from downtown on five attempts per game.

"He's improved consistently during the year," said Coach Popovich in a recent presser. "[He's] getting confidence in his 3-point shot, being a better decision-maker on his drives, whether he goes to finish or he finds a teammate. He's done a much better job with that. It's helped us a lot."

Keldon's 16.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game are all career-highs in a season, and he's showing some signs of being All-Star material with his all-around game this season.

Along with Dejounte Murray, Devin Vassell, and Joshua Primo, I'd expect Keldon to be around for the long haul, and the continued development of the Big Body could mean huge things for the Spurs' future.