Keldon Johnson Wins 2025-26 NBA Sixth Man of the Year over Jaquez, Hardaway, Full Voting Results

After an outstanding year off the San Antonio Spurs' bench, Keldon Johnson has been named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

It was announced on ESPN's Inside the NBA on Wednesday that the Spurs forward took home the award over Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

Johnson, a first-round pick out of Kentucky in 2019, has been in a starting role for most of his career, but he took on a bench role last season, and it's worked out well.

He posted 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this year, shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from deep.

Obviously, star center Victor Wembanyama is the headliner of the Spurs' roster, but Johnson's strong play off the bench was a huge reason for San Antonio's turnaround season that saw them finish second in the West at 62-20.

"He has sacrificed more than anybody on this team, in my opinion, in terms of stats and playing time," Wembanyama said in March of his teammate. "And he has out-shown everybody on the team, in my opinion, because he's the soul of this team and he brings energy no matter what time of the day. He deserves to be the sixth man of the year. And a lot of the work he does, I can't say it's not loud because he's naturally loud, but it's unseen. It's behind the scenes. He has a role nobody else wants to do. He embraces that and nobody else can do it, really."

Johnson is the first Spur to win Sixth Man of the Year since Manu Ginóbili took home the award during the 2007-08 season. Ginóbili's presence off the bench helped lead the Spurs to four championships, and Johnson is hoping to have the same impact.