Mitch Johnson On the Hardest Part of Guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (It's Not the Refs)

San Antonio's head coach spoke before Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals about how his team has managed to slow down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the approach to this team's first playoff elimination game at risk of going home.

May 26, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game five of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs are down 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, tasting the possible end of their season for the first time.

Plenty of people around the league had modest expectations for San Antonio coming into the season, so for them to be two wins away from the NBA Finals is a tremendous accomplishment. Standing in the way is the defending-champion Thunder.

For many fans the hardest part of watching this Oklahoma City team is the way they're officiated on both ends of the floor, the double-edged sword of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going to the line on soft contact and the big bodies on defense taking advantage of the fact that the refs aren't going to call every potential foul, especially in the playoffs.

But Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson isn't going to blame anything on the officials.

"You could probably pick a handful of aspects of the game that have led to frustration, just because the competitiveness and the stakes that are on the line, and I think the referee probably has the least actual outcome of what the games have been," Johnson said. "When there's a level of urgency and competitiveness, it's always going to lead to emotions or reactions, or the desire of all of us to want the outcome, and what we're seeking in that moment, possession, or the bigger picture. But yeah, the takeaway from any of the games that we've won or lost has not been that the refs decided it."

May 22, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson reacts after a foul call against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during game three of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Spurs have held two-time MVP SGA to 26.2 points per game in the series, shooting 39% from the floor and 33% from 3. He's averaged over 30 points on better than 50% shooting in the last four regular seasons. Asked about what's working for his team against Shai, Johnson was cautious about using the word.

"I think you got to be careful on 'what's working,'" Johnson said. "Sometimes players make shots or miss shots, especially players of his caliber, so you can get at times intoxicated of what you think may be working or not working, and I think we've learned that throughout this playoffs, not just a series of times of things change, they can change pretty rapidly. You got to be ready and willing to adjust on the fly, and kind of almost stay ahead of the time at times, and and also not get too short sighted. You don't want to adjust or counter just because something's going well, because you don't really always know what's going into that."

The Spurs had great success slowing the Thunder offense in Game 4 as they played a more straight-up approach, and they got burned a bit in Game 5 as their aggressive help defense opened up opportunities for OKC's role players. Expect the Spurs to focus on the principles that got them where they are, and keep mixing things up.

"There are certain guys in this league who have the basketball in their hands as much as he does, where they see so many, they've seen every scheme, coverage, look, personnel combination, and so it's not necessarily giving them something they haven't seen or they can't solve for, I think as much of changing it up and trying to keep on their toes, and so they don't find a rhythm," Johnson said. When guys like that find a rhythm and they find a cadence to what they're looking for, and they start manipulating, dictating things, you can find yourself in trouble."

On the other side of the scorer's table, Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault has gotten a good look at what makes San Antonio a particularly challenging foil to their powerful, Shai-driven offense.

"They got all the marks of a great defense," Daigneault said. "They've got, obviously, the rim protection speaks for itself, but they have great point of attack defenders that are highly aggressive and that really make you uncomfortable on the perimeter with that behind them. And then they're competent, they've got schemes, they're organized, they're disciplined, they're well coached, so all the all the things you need to be a really good defense, they check all the boxes."

May 22, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts in the second half during game three of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Thunder coasted to sweeps in their first two playoff series, but the Spurs have given them everything they can handle in the Western Conference Finals.

"It's required us to really be precise on offense," Daigneault said. "It's made us better, good or bad, we've had good games against them, and we've had tough games against them, and it's forced us to improve. It's a great thing for us, but we have to apply those lessons tonight if we want to give ourselves a chance to be efficient against them."

The key for OKC so far has been to get their role players involved, and guys like Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams and Chet Holmgren have made a huge difference in the series.

"When you're playing against great teams and great players, it requires five guys," Daigneault said. "It's just the reality of it. There's no team that you can handle just with one guy. There's no player that you can handle with just one guy. We try to play a five-man defense against anybody, to be honest with you, but it's critical against top-end talent, and we have to play as five guys on offense, so that's our challenge tonight. We got to go out there and be a five-man team, as many possessions as we can of the game."

This is the most important Spurs game in San Antonio since they won the 2014 NBA Finals, and even though the Thunder won it all last year they're fully aware that they will need to be excellent to win this one on the road.

"Every single playoff game is a challenge," Daigneault said. "Every win in the playoffs is earned. The other team is just as hungry, wants it just as bad, just as competent, just as good, so they're tough. Tonight is going to be a complete battle. It'll be a very difficult game to win."

The Spurs beat the Thunder in the regular-season series 4-1, and they have a pretty good idea of how their opponent wants to play.

Dec 13, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) shoots the ball as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) and guard Stephon Castle (5) defend during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"We've seen these guys, this team, 10 times this year," Johnson said. We've seen them the last five games that we've played, and we won a couple, and they beat us three times, and so there's no Lombardi speech coming, or magic line. We're going to go out there and try to play our standard of basketball with the proper approach, and try to execute through all the things that we're going to be seeing at that moment."

This is the 100th game the Spurs have played all season, and by far the most pressure-packed. This young team knows what they have to do. Now it's a matter of executing.

"I'm sure they all know it's at stake tonight," Johnson said. "It's it is what it is. We will come out and we have discussed everything, and we'll discuss again before they go out one last time, what we feel is the most important and emphasize what they need to hear, but the preparation has been done."