Although the aftermath of Gregg Popovich announcing he would be stepping down from his position as head coach for the San Antonio Spurs is still fresh, reports reveal that Mitch Johnson is expected to succeed the legendary Spurs coach.
Given that the 76-year-old missed the majority of this season and was unable to coach the team due to medical issues, Popovich being relieved of his duties as head coach can be considered pleasant news, especially since he is expected to become the Spurs’ president.
While Popovich is expected to play a bigger role in the organization and make moves from behind the scenes, many wonder about who his replacement is, Johnson, given Pop’s record of successful assistant hires.
Mitch Johnson Succeeds Gregg Popovich After 6 Years With the Spurs
Johnson was relatively under the radar up until this point. However, he will likely have to embrace the limelight as the Spurs’ next head coach. Johnson went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft but played in the NBA G League and in Europe before realizing his passion for coaching.
He joined the Spurs back in 2019 as an assistant coach under Popovich. Within a short period, he was promoted to a full-time assistant coach and even replaced Tim Duncan, who stepped down from his position with the Spurs.
After Popovich was sidelined indefinitely due to his health, Johnson took over as the interim head coach for the Spurs and has been leading the team for most of this season. With Popovich officially removed from his position as the head coach, everything has been set up well for Johnson to take over.
The strong expectation, league sources say, is that that the Spurs will name Mitch Johnson as Pop’s full-time coaching replacement.
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Given that Popovich won five NBA championships and even has three Coach of the Year awards, the pressure on Johnson to live up to the standard set by his predecessor will be unimaginable.
Moreover, the Spurs have an extremely talented roster with stars like Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. While losing Popovich is saddening, the team is already used to playing without him and has been performing under Johnson.
Since this is Johnson’s first time coaching, the expectations for the Spurs might not be very high next season, especially since Wembanyama is recovering from his deep vein thrombosis diagnosis in his shoulder and might not be at full strength next season.
Johnson’s career so far has been quite impressive. After he played college-level basketball, going undrafted, playing overseas, and finding his way back to the NBA as a head coach is a remarkable journey. Hopefully, he will be able to take things to the next level with the Spurs soon.
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