San Antonio Spurs Have Overlooked Advantage Heading Into Next Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Last season, virtually everything that could have gone wrong for the San Antonio Spurs did.

Victor Wembanyama was shut down at the All-Star Break with blood clots, De’Aaron Fox had his season ended soon after with a lingering finger issue, and, most devastating, the Spurs lost legendary head coach Gregg Popovich.

So far, next season seems to be off to a better start, with draft picks Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant already impressing on both ends of the floor.

Perhaps overlooked, however, is how Johnson won’t be “thrown into the fire” this season, and has assembled a staff of his own, and won’t be dealing with the pressures of an interim head coach, or the uncertainty of Pop’s health.

“Mitch Johnson having a full offseason to be the head coach and figure out a plan, listen, the guy was thrown into the fire right off the bat in November,” said The Athletic’s Mo Dakhil. “And then it’s kind of like figuring it out on the fly. He has a whole staff that I think is solid. And I think it’s just having a whole offseason to put out your plan. People don’t understand how important the offseason is for coaching staffs.”

Johnson has brought back Brett Brown to be a key bench figure, and Sean Sweeney was poached from the Dallas Mavericks. On top of that, as Harper pointed out, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan are constant presences in the training facilities, giving a bit of consistency while Johnson starts to impose his will, hopefully for the better.

While it’s impossible to imagine Johnson fully filling Popovich’s shoes, the Spurs will enjoy a full season under him, and all the benefits of a full offseason should be reaped early.

Check out the Inside the Spurs home page for more news, analysis, and must-read articles.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.