Mitchell Johnson (born November 29, 1986) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player who is the head coach for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He replaced

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball executive and former coach who is the president for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the List of current NBA head co ...

, who stepped down after 29 seasons. He previously served as the interim head coach and assistant coach of the Spurs, and served as an assistant coach for the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the po ...

from 2016 to 2019. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

Early life and personal life

Johnson was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, United States on November 29, 1986. He is the son of former NBA player John Johnson, who won the

1979 NBA Finals The 1979 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series played at the conclusion of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1978–79 season. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics played the Eastern Conference ch ...

with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

, and Jenny Redman.

High school career

From 2002 to 2005, Johnson played for

O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Roman Catholicism, Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill, Seattle, First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the sch ...

under coach Phil Lumpkin, where he was the team captain. During his time at O'Dea, he was a four time All-Metro selection, three time All area honor, two time All-State, an MVP of state tournament and Metro Conference MVP. He averaged 22 points and eight assists in his senior season, and had helped led O'Dea to two state championships.

College career

Johnson played at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

for the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

from

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Freshman season (2005–06)

Johnson played 30 games during his freshman season, starting in 20 of them. He made his college debut against

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

on November 19, 2005, in which he played 19 minutes as a bench player, and had his first college start on December 31, 2005, against

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

where he scored six points in 23 minutes of action. During his freshman season, he recorded a total of 98 assists and 25 steals, which is the second most on the team. Johnson was an All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention pick.

Sophomore season (2006–07)

During Johnson’s sophomore season, he played 31 games and started 20 games. He recorded 103 assists, the second most on the team, while leading the team in steals with 29. On December 19, 2006, Johnson recorded a season—high 10 assists against

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

. On February 15, 2007, Johnson recorded 8 rebounds against

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

. Johnson scored 12 points against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

on February 17. Johnson scored 11 points, four assists and 4 rebounds on March 1 against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

Junior season (2007–08)

Johnson played in all 36 of his team’s games while starting in 35 games. On November 10, 2007, Johnson scored 14 points against

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

. He played Northwestern again on November 15, where he scored 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. On January 3, 2008, he scored 10 points and five field goals against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 38 minutes of action. Johnson recorded nine rebounds on January 13 against Oregon. On January 26, Johnson scored a career-high 16 points along with five rebounds and seven assists, winning against

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. On February 24, Johnson contributed with 11 points, and recorded 14 points along with six assists on February 28 against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Johnson achieved his first college double-double on March 13, with 11 points and 10 rebounds against

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. During the PAC—10 tournament against UCLA on March 15, Johnson recorded seven points, seven rebounds and five assists. During the NCAA tournament against Marquette on March 22, Johnson recorded a career—high 16 assists, breaking Stanford’s record for assists in a game. He recorded eight assists against

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

on March 28.

Senior season (2008–09)

Johnson started all 32 games in which he played. On November 14, 2008, Johnson recorded 11 points and six assists, winning against

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. On December 20, Johnson tied his previous career—high 16 points on 5 of 5 field goal shooting, and 4 of 4 shooting from 3 against Northwestern. On December 23, Johnson scored 14 points against Santa Clara, and he scored 14 points again on December 30 against

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. On January 8, 2009, Johnson contributed 10 points against Washington. On February 28, Johnson contributed with 10 points and four assists against USC. He achieved more than 500 career assists on March 5, winning against Arizona State. On March 12, Johnson moved to second place on Stanford’s assist list after recording five assists against Washington.

Professional career

After leaving Stanford, Johnson went undrafted in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

. He joined the

Tulsa 66ers Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa ...

on November 1, 2009. On December 16, 2009, Johnson was waived by the 66ers. Johnson played professionally across the

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

and Europe for three years, before deciding to follow his heart and pursue coaching.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Before coaching for the Austin Spurs, Johnson was a coaching intern for

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

in 2011, served as a coach for an AAU team in the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

, and became an assistant coach for the

Portland Pilots The Portland Pilots is the nickname for athletics at the University of Portland. The Pilots compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the NCAA Division I level. History The Pilots started to gain attention when Clive Charles began coachi ...

at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

. Johnson was an assistant coach for the Pilots during the 2015–2016 season.

Austin Spurs (2016–2019)

Johnson started his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach with the

in 2016. Johnson won the G League Championship with the Austin Spurs in 2018.

San Antonio Spurs (2019–present)

On September 20, 2019, the

hired Johnson to be an assistant coach for head coach

. He was promoted by the Spurs to be a full-time assistant coach on November 12, 2020, and he replaced assistant coach

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

, who stepped down from his position on the Spurs. On May 15, 2021, Johnson was the interim head coach in a 140–103 loss against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

as Popovich watched Tim Duncan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Johnson was the interim head coach again in a 110–99 win against the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

on March 2, 2023, as Popovich was unable to coach due to an illness. On November 2, 2024, Popovich was sidelined indefinitely from coaching due to a health issue, which was eventually revealed to be a stroke, and Johnson became the Spurs interim head coach. He started coaching the Spurs on November 2 in a game against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, having been informed two and half hours before tip off that Popovich wasn’t available to coach because of illness, and the Spurs won 113–103 against the Timberwolves. This was the third time Johnson served as the interim head coach of the Spurs. Johnson served as the interim head coach until the end of the 2024-25 season due to Popovich sitting out from coaching for the rest of the season. On May 2, 2025, Johnson was promoted to become the head coach of the Spurs, following Popovich’s decision to step down after 29 seasons.

Career playing statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, 30 , , 20 , , 22.5 , , .314 , , .283 , , .774 , , 2 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .1, , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 20 , , 23.5 , , .356 , , .321 , , .821, , 2.8, , 3.3 , , .9 , , .0 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36, , 35, , 31.5, , .421, , .388, , .644 , , 4.3, , 5.2, , .8 , , .1, , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 29 , , .420 , , .368 , , .698 , , 2.5 , , 4.5 , , 1.2, , .1 , , 6.6 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 129 , , 107 , , 26.8 , , .388 , , .348 , , .708 , , 2.9 , , 4.1 , , .9 , , .1 , , 5.3

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009-10 , style="text-align:left;",

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .154 , , .000 , , .750 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mitch 1986 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Austin Spurs coaches Basketball players from Seattle Basketball coaches from Washington (state) San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players Tulsa 66ers players BK VEF Rīga players