Remember the rumor floating around last week about former UVA Basketball coach Tony Bennett maybe being a candidate for the coaching job with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs?
Not happening.
Gregg Popovich is officially stepping down after 29 seasons, and Mitch Johnson, the Popovich assistant who served as the interim coach for most of the 2024-2025 season, has been given the job on a full-time basis.
ICYMI
The Spurs job is one that you’d consider coveted – Popovich was overseeing a rebuild from the David Robinson-Tim Duncan-Tony Parker-Manu Ginobli glory years around 2023 #1 pick Victor Wembenyama, and the team’s first-round pick in 2024, Stephon Castle, was just named NBA Rookie of the Year.
Johnson, 38, is a 2009 Stanford grad who was an assistant at the University of Portland for one year, in 2015-2016, before working with the Spurs’ G League team for three seasons, then advancing to a job on Popovich’s staff in 2019.
San Antonio was 31-45 with Johnson at the helm this past season.
The Spurs posted an 11-19 with Wembenyama missing the final 30 games as the young superstar dealt with issues with a blood clot.
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Chris Graham
