Everything Mitch Johnson Said About Wemby, Jalen Brunson, Dylan Harper and Spurs' Loss to Knicks
While heartbreak will be the most acute emotion for the San Antonio Spurs and their fans after the 2026 NBA Finals concluded, coach Mitch Johnson doesn't want the team to lose sight of the bigger picture.
"We've been blood, sweat and tears for nine months basically. It's over," he told reporters following Saturday's 94-90 Game 5 loss. "So there will be plenty of time for reflection. But yeah, on the surface level, I don't think anybody other than the people in that room expected us to be here. So there's a lot of good in that. There's a lot of pain in what just happened. Both things can be true."
On the topic of franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama, Johnson said the young Frenchman has "grown tremendously" during the Spurs' rise to contender status.
"I think he's stepped into every moment with the appropriate amount of fearlessness and also respect for the moment and being exactly who he is," the coach said. "He's bringing his teammates and everybody else along with him. It's been pretty fun to observe and be a part of."
Johnson was similarly effusive about rookies Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant.
"The way they trusted the program and allowed us to educate them on corporate knowledge, what it meant to be a professional basketball player, and one for the San Antonio Spurs," he said. "They did that appropriately. We saw their talent, they're playing in the NBA Finals, guarding MVPs in Anthony Edwards, etc., etc. I'm very proud of them."
As good as San Antonio was defensively at times during the series, it didn't have an answer for Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who had 81 points in Games 4 and 5.
Johnson stated the obvious when he responded, "Make him score less points," when asked what he wanted the Spurs to do differently with the dynamic guard.
"He's aggressive. He got to spots," the coach said. "We were undisciplined at times. They had 37 points at half. There's some good in that, as well. He got going, then he got going later on. He's a heck of a player. He deserves everything he's got."
In general, the 2025-26 season was unquestionably a success for the Spurs, but it was a year in which they discovered how much further they need to go to win a title.
That applies to the coaching side.
Johnson didn't have a great series, with fans mostly pointing to his failure to respond to the Knicks' historic comeback in Game 4. He held onto his timeouts for too long as the Spurs were losing their composure, and he probably should've lessened De'Aaron Fox's role on the floor given how badly he struggled.
There's nothing to indicate San Antonio is considering the extreme step of firing Johnson. Just two years into his run as an NBA coach and having had the almost impossible task of replacing a legend in Gregg Popovich, he's at least going to head into 2026-27 with a ton of pressure to deliver.
