Johnson, the longest-tenured active member of the Silver & Black, is just the second Spur to win the accolade after Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili.
SAN ANTONIO — It took just three days for the San Antonio Spurs to match the number of major end-of-year NBA awards it had received over the previous 11 years.
At least, not when you count Rookie of the Year, of which the Spurs recently boasted back-to-back winners in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. But this year’s other awards – first Wembanyama, who won Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, and now Keldon Johnson’s Sixth Man of the Year honor – could be read as a reflection of how much the team has grown since its lottery-picking days.
Johnson’s win was made official Wednesday night, when the longest-tenured member of the team bested Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Denver Nuggets and Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat. The San Antonio forward was one of 18 players to appear in all 82 games this season, averaging 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals. He came off the bench to average 23.3 minutes per game while shooting 51.9% from the field—a career-best mark aside from his rookie season, when he appeared in just 17 games.
Johnson, 26, was surprised by his fellow Spurs after winning the award–all of them wearing cowboy hats in honor of their resident rancher, who owns land and farm animals in Boerne.
Of course, Johnson was also donning a cowboy hat himself as he spoke to news media shortly after winning.
“It’s been a journey of ups and downs,” he said. “If I told you it’s been easy, I’d be lying… but I feel like my teammates never gave up on me. My support system never gave up on me. Through the tough times, I smile and I continue to be myself.”
For Spurs fans and the teammates who have praised his trademark energy, the win may also echo the journey Johnson has taken from Spurs rookie in 2019 to locker room leader this year, when San Antonio finished with a 62-20 record and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
He made some history in the process, setting a new Spurs record for most points scored off the bench in a single season with 1,081, surpassing Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili. He was also one of just two players in the NBA this season to tally at least 1,000 points and 400 rebounds while coming off the bench.
And he now holds down the fourth spot on the Spurs all-time bench points ranks with 2,855. He could surpass Malik Rose (third with 3,272 career bench points) next season.
Johnson on Wednesday said the award was a reflection of the team and organization as a whole.
“The people that’s here with me, they make this possible. They create this environment that allows me to be myself. They bring this space that allows me to be Keldon Johnson… this award means so much more than just Keldon Johnson to me.”
The team may be looking even more to Johnson’s leadership in Game 3 of their ongoing first-round series against Portland after Wembanyama suffered a concussion in Tuesday’s Game 2, putting his status for Friday’s matchup into question as the two teams head to Portland tied at one game apiece. It’s a best-of-seven series.
Before Wemby and Johnson’s awards this week, and well before Wembanyama and Castle won Rookie of the Year, Kawhi Leonard was the last Spur to win a major NBA accolade when he was named Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back campaigns in the mid-2010s.
The Sixth Man of the Year award honors the league’s best bench performer and has been handed out since the 1982-83 season. Johnson is just the second Spur to win the award, after four-time champion Ginobili following the 2007-08 campaign.
The Spurs are in position to finish a three-for-three sweep for NBA awards the team is contending for. Mitch Johnson is also up for Coach of the Year after leading the Spurs to a major turnaround campaign that saw them winning 28 more games than in 2024-25 in his first full season at the reins.
Mitch Johnson is up against Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff and Boston’s Joe Mazzulla. The Coach of the Year winner will be announced later in the playoffs.