Gregg Popovich is the greatest basketball coach of all time. Over 29 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, he won more games than anyone else and brought home five championships.
So far, Mitch Johnson has done an excellent job of replacing the GOAT, making the Finals in his first full season as head coach. Of course, he has a long way to go, but the Spurs’ young core seemingly has his back and is bought in entirely.
When Popovich stepped down in 2024, the Spurs could have landed an established, big-name hire to fill his shoes. Instead, they brought in Johnson, who was relatively unknown, but had been an assistant with the Spurs since 2019.
Victor Wembanyama backed the move, and it’s mostly been smooth sailing. In fact, some of the Spurs’ youngsters think Johnson has one advantage over Popovich.
Dylan Harper Gives Mitch Johnson a Glowing Review
Drafted second overall by the Spurs in 2025, Dylan Harper never played for Coach Pop. The former head coach has remained close to the team, though, attending practices and meetings. He’s always available to players at the Victory Capital Performance Center and is an invaluable resource.
“He might know who I am better than I know who I am,” Harper told Brandon Robinson. “In times when I might be a little passive, or I might not be as aggressive, he will calmly send me texts like, ‘No, like this is not how you’re going to play. You’re going to play like how we know you can play.’ And I feel like just having that push from a legend like that is unbelievable.”
Harper and the other players on the roster understand the resource Popovich is, and the Spurs are still his team in many ways. However, as Popovich has taken a step back, his relationship with the team is largely personal, and Johnson is now the one calling the shots.
Johnson, like a lot of his players, is just starting to prove himself and doesn’t have the experience that Pop has. To his players, that makes him more relatable.
“He fits perfectly,” praised Harper. “I feel like he’s a player’s coach. He obviously played, played in college, played pro. He understands—he understands what goes through a player’s head, and I think that’s very important for any coach because he’s not naive to the days when maybe we all don’t want to be there, but we got to get better…I think they’ve put up a great kind of structure for us, and they just allowed us to grow. And he’s growing right with us.”
Now, Popovich has long been praised for being one of the most adaptable head coaches. He let Manu Ginobili play with his South American flair, and he helped Kawhi Leonard lean into his strengths. However, it’s hard to discount Johnson growing alongside his team.
Johnson is being molded just like his players are, which allows them to come to a greater understanding. Of course, Pop is able to communicate, mentor, and inspire better than anyone in the NBA, but Johnson is capable of finding success on his own, and his players understand that he’s more than just an extension of the GOAT.
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