Gregg Popovich’s stand-in receives rave reviews for coaching job

The Spurs and Gregg Popovich have been synonymous with one another since the 1996-97 NBA season. That’s why there was much uncertainty around the franchise when the longtime head coach took a leave of absence in early November to recover from a mild stroke. 

Luckily for the Spurs, Popovich’s assistant coach, Mitch Johnson, has done a tremendous job since taking over the clipboard. On Thursday, the Spurs improved to 18-19 under Johnson — and 20-22 overall — with a 140-110 rout of the Pacers in the ongoing Paris Games. A sub-.500 record is nothing to write home about, but it’s still an improvement from last season when the Spurs finished 22-60, missing the postseason for a fifth consecutive year.

As such, the Spurs are on track to return to relevancy under the leadership of Johnson, who sat under Popovich’s learning tree for five years before being entrusted into the head coaching job. Even the Spurs players realize Johnson is the voice the locker room needed in the wake of Popovich’s abrupt health issue. 

“Mitch has done a great job, along with our whole coaching staff,” Chris Paul told reporters in Paris. “When you’re in a situation like that, getting thrust into a head-coaching position, you’ve already built trust with guys because he was a lot of times the guy who was working guys out, training guys and whatnot, so he’s done an amazing job.”

Paul cited Johnson’s college career at Stanford as a reason for him to relate to players and thereby command their respect.

“He coaches with passion,” Paul said of Johnson. “You can tell Mitch used to hoop, as a point guard at Stanford. He coaches with passion and I think that feeds our team. There’s a lot of trust there, a lot of communication, and great for me to be able to play for him.”

If and when Popovich, who will turn 76 on Jan. 28, decides to ride off into the sunset, the Spurs have seemingly unearthed the Hall of Famer’s replacement. 

The Spurs are going through a tricky time in their franchise history. Despite missing the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, there is growing optimism that they can return to title contention while building off the extraordinary talents of Victor Wembanyama. To that end, Johnson has also been burdened with the task of fast-tracking the development of Wemby, a role he has excelled in.

The Spurs will again play the Pacers on Saturday at the Accor Arena in Paris. They return home to host the Clippers on Tuesday.