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Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has been away from the team for about two weeks after he suffered a "mild stroke" on Nov. 2, the team revealed on Wednesday. Popovich is out indefinitely as he recovers, which means that Mitch Johnson is tasked with leading the Spurs in the interim.
The Spurs are off to a 6-6 this season and have hopes to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. To do so, Johnson will be tasked with filling in for a future Hall of Famer.
Here is what you need to know about San Antonio's interim head coach.
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Who is Mitch Johnson?
Mitch Johnson is a 39-year-old coach who has served as a Spurs assistant since 2019.
Johnson is a former basketball player, as he played college ball for Stanford from 2005-09, appearing in 129 games in his four-year college career. He then had a brief stint in the G League playing for the Tulsa 66ers.
Johnson first got into coaching in 2016 as an assistant for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio's G League team, before getting promoted to San Antonio in 2019.
This is not the first time that Johnson filled in for Popovich as interim head coach. He did it twice before — once when Popovich had COVID and once when he was away to attend Tim Duncan Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
It is notable that San Antonio opted to go with Johnson as the team's interim head coach since there are more experienced coaches on the bench, notably Brett Brown, the former 76ers head coach who coached 565 games over seven seasons in Philadelphia. However, Spurs players and coaches have tons of praise for Johnson and believe he's the right person for this position.
MORE: What to know about Gregg Popovich's return to coaching after 'mild' stroke
Veteran Chris Paul, who is in his first season with the Spurs, had nothing but good things to say about Johnson as a communicator.
"Mitch has been great, man," Paul said, via The Athletic's Kelly Iko. "I've gotten a chance to know Mitch even before I signed here. He's doing an amazing job, and it’s crazy that he's in the role that he's in now because he's been so communicative anyway."
Additionally, Spurs players don't believe Johnson is overwhelmed by the sudden promotion.
"He can coach. You've seen around the league, a couple teams have brought him in for interviews," Charles Bassey said, via Iko. "That shows he can have an impact on any team. He's good at what he does, and we as a team respect him—and other teams respect him as well, knowing he stepped in for Pop. He's doing a brilliant job to me."
MORE: LeBron James shares heartfelt message to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
Spurs coaching staff
Popovich has been calling the shots for the Spurs since 1996, making him the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA. Johnson and Brown headline his assistant coaching staff.
- Gregg Popovich, head coach
- Mitch Johnson, assistant coach
- Brett Brown, assistant coach
- Matt Nielsen, assistant coach
- Will Sevening, trainer
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