Mitch Johnson’s honest admission about Gregg Popovich’s Spurs outlook

A Spurs assistant previously sitting behind the likes of Tim Duncan – who took on a bench role as a solid for Popovich – and Becky Hammon, Johnson was thrust into the head job ahead of the Spurs sixth game this season.

“It’s been a heck of an experience,” the Seattle, Washington native said.

“There’s no way to predict probably any season in this league. It’s too long, too much stuff happens, too many circumstances. But for me the experience has been one of one for a ton of reasons and that will stay with me forever and I’m forever grateful for that.”

The mild stroke that Popovich suffered sent the franchise into a place it hadn’t been since 1996. That’s when the longest tenured coach in the NBA inserted himself as head coach as the team’s general manager.

“Similar, I think, to what I was talking about the players is you don’t always know when your opportunity will arrive or in what shape or form,” Johnson admitted.

“When I took the opportunity to join the Austin Spurs over nine years ago I had no idea that opportunity was in front of me,” Johnson continued. “And so, it’s sometimes funny how your journey takes you and sometimes the biggest moments can come from the least likely spots. And I think the biggest thing that I would just say again is the experience is hard to even quantify and put into words.”

Johnson moved from Austin to the big club in 2019, where he’s been ever since. The uncertainty of his role is tied to the uncertainty around Popovich. What is certain, though, is what this past year meant to the Stanford alum.

“The support has been just as overwhelming at times from the organization, the city, the fans, the players,” Johnson said. “And I think that I’ve learned a lot about myself in terms of just being able to have to stand up and go through some small storms along the way and come out on the other side.”