For Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, Spurs Playoff Berth Means More

SAN ANTONIO - When Victor Wembanyama sank the game-winning shot to clinch the Spurs' first playoff berth in seven years, everybody felt it.

Wembanyama felt it, all the players and coaches did. The basketball world felt it. The sellout crowd of 18,648 felt it, from the kids taking in their first game to the Baseline Bums who have been here for most home games since 1973. The folks working security and concessions felt it. The equipment managers, medical staff and video coordinators felt it.

Nobody felt it quite like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell.

"It feels like a long time coming," Johnson said. "I think it feels surreal, because I've been through every step I've been through. We couldn't skip no steps to get to where we at. It really means something to me. It's personal to be able to be in the situation that I'm in... I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and do it anywhere else, to be here and go through the process with my brothers, with the Spurs."

"This is like, almost like a dream come true, to be able to work through all the mishaps and work through the process and see the outcome of it, and knowing that we still going, that we still striving for greatness, we still trying to reach that next level," Johnson said. "I feel like this is a special group that we have, and I'm blessed to be a part of it."

Johnson is the longest-tenured Spur, arriving in 2019 as the 29th overall pick that Toronto sent to San Antonio in the Kawhi Leonard trade. It also happened to be the first year as an assistant on Gregg Popovich's bench for a kid named Mitch Johnson. The Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and Vassell became the team's first lottery pick since Tim Duncan that year.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (left) talks with guard Devin Vassell (24) and forward Keldon Johnson (3). — Jan 2, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (left) talks with guard Devin Vassell (24) and forward Keldon Johnson (3) during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

In Vassell's rookie season, the Spurs scrapped their way to the 10 seed in the Western Conference at 33-39. It wasn't very good, but it was enough to secure a date with the Grizzlies in the play-in game. The date did not go well for the Spurs, who shot poorly in the 100-96 loss as their season ended in disappointment.

After the defeat, young Devin Vassell walked into his exit interview bummed but determined.

"I just talked to Keldon and said this is the last time we'll miss the playoffs," he said.

Vassell meant it when he said it. He probably believed it too. He had no idea that he'd be wrong, not just the next year, but for the next four years in a row. He didn't know it would get worse before it got better. When it got worse, he had no way of knowing if he or Keldon would still be here when it did get better. Now they're the only players on the roster who were here for that play-in loss.

In October of 2022 Vassell was live on Instagram and excited about the upcoming season, not so much about the top draft prospect many thought his team would be bad enough to be in the running for.

"Y'all gotta stop coming in my Live talking about this Victor dude, bro. We hoopin' this year. Y'all gonna see," he said at the time.

Some three and a half years later, Vassell has gotten quite close with that Victor dude. They warm up together, and Vassell throws the lobs as high as he can. And as for the guy who has been here with him the whole time?

"Dev is like my brother, like my best friend," Johnson said. "We talk about everything that goes on with our team, on off the court, every day, family, all those, those type of things. To be able to really go through this process with Dev is, it's special. There's been times where Dev has been there, been the person I call after a tough game when you know the season not going well, and vice versa."

San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) embraces guard Devin Vassell (24) after Vassell scored a three point basket. — Dec 14, 2022; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) embraces guard Devin Vassell (24) after Vassell scored a three point basket during the second half against the Portland Trailblazers at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Spurs never won more than 34 games in Johnson's first six years in the league. They suffered 60 losses in back-to-back seasons, first the when they bottomed out and got Wemby and then his rookie year. Vassell has been by his side for almost all of it.

"To be able to see it through with him, and see the light, and see the success that we have now is huge," Johnson said. "I'm glad I'm able to go through this with him and go through this process and be able to experience this with them, because there's no other person that I feel like deserves it... I feel like he works so hard, he's sacrificing every aspect. (He was here) when things wasn't as good, so to go through with him it means everything to me."

In Thursday night's game against the Suns Vassell was a tremendous, underrated reason why Keldon came to the interview room to discuss a playoff-clinching win and not a tough loss. With Stephon Castle a late scratch, Vassell stepped up to guard the heck out of Devin Booker. The league's second-hottest scorer in the month of March got iced out of the final five minutes of the game, a victim of Devin-on-Devin defense.

That Victor dude definitely deserves his highlights and headlines, what with his 34 points and game-winning, playoff-clinching shot and all, but he wouldn't have had the chance to make that moment had Vassell not applied the clamps as tightly as he did.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with guard Devin Vassell (24). — Mar 19, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with guard Devin Vassell (24) after the game against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Vassell and Johnson were both asked to be leading scorers for this Spurs team during those lean years. Now they're asked to lock in on defense and space the floor for guys like Wembanyama, Castle, De'Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper. Their shared journey has required a tremendous amount of maturity and humility.

"We've had players in different buckets, I guess, in terms of how we acquire them in their growth and journey here," Mitch Johnson said. "Those two guys are in a similar lane, in terms of their roles have changed probably the most of anybody that has been here, and especially for as long as they've been here, and for them to embrace it and then star in their current roles takes a certain amount of intentionality and effort in embracing from them. It's a big part of why we're having the success we're having as a team, when you have people buying in and then starring in their roles as they are."

"I think specifically on the defensive end, because when you do lose games, as they did and we did early in their careers, it's our job to be on them, but human nature as it can be hard to sustain habits at times when the reality of the current climate may allow for slippage, and for that slippage to maybe necessarily not be the needle mover on the results of the game," Johnson said. "I think their growth has been tremendous."

Keldon Johnson has done his fair share of defending lately as well, pestering the likes of Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic in recent contests. He also remains a sentient bowling ball of a rim runner, knocking down pins with his big shoulders and floating in soft hooks over his dislodged opponents. None of that is what makes him an irreplaceable part of San Antonio, though.

Through all of his trials and tribulations, Keldon Johnson has become the big, boisterous, beating heart of this Spurs team. He is the guy who blasts his boombox in the tunnel to get his teammates hyped before the game (lately it's been Wagon Wheel (Darius Rucker's rendition)). He's the guy who sent his rookie teammate Carter Bryant a big long message before his Austin Spurs debut, having spent most of his own rookie year in the G League.

Keldon is the guy who cracked a joke in the midst of an 18-game losing streak before telling us that the tide would turn, and when it did we'd be able to say that Keldon was the same guy whether they were winning or losing. The Spurs have won 20 of their last 22 games, and Keldon is the same guy.

Keldon came into the interview room after another tough loss and cracked a joke about the mic being loud.@tom_orsborn asked about having a sense of humor in times like these.

Keldon then worked through the most profound thing I’ve ever heard him say, in a way only he could. pic.twitter.com/a0KBQEa5z1
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) November 21, 2023

"When you building something, it doesn't happen overnight," he said when asked about that old clip. "It's not something that you get all these players, and then you just say, 'Oh, bam, we good.' It took some time, and it took some development. It took some growing up and those type of things. And slowly but surely, we here, you know? When you have that foundation of good habits, winning, those things continue to grow and grow and spread to other teammates and things like that."

Keldon is the guy who crashes the postgame interview to tell the world that his buddy is the MVP. After Wembanyama's winner that delivered him from playoff purgatory, Johnson made the case for his teammate.

"He's playing an MVP type level," he said. "It's hard to deny what he's doing on both ends of the court. He's leading us night in and night out to wins, and I feel like a lot of people had doubted us. A lot of people had counted us out even before the season. And I feel like we proved everybody wrong, and Vic has done the same. And I feel like his level of play right now is MVP level."

As Wembanyama reflected on what it means to end this playoff drought, he thought about what it means for his vets in Johnson and Vassell.

"I'm super proud of these guys, because they've embraced the role. And I think Julian (Champagnie) too, those are the guys who were there since I've been here," Wembanyama said.

"I'm just gonna take Keldon's example," he said. "He has sacrificed more than anybody on this team, in my opinion, in terms of stats and playing time, and like, he has outshone 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. I think he deserves to be the Sixth Man of the Year."

"A lot of the work he does, I can't say it's not loud, because he's naturally loud, but it's unseen," Wembanyama said. "It's behind the scenes. He has a role that nobody else wants to do. He embraces that, and nobody else can do it, really."

Speaking of people who do their work behind the scenes, Keldon took great care on Thursday night to thank as many of them as possible by name. It was a beautiful, poetic moment where a player who knows he isn't the star of the show took time out of celebrating the watershed moment in his professional career to highlight the people who will never be on a highlight reel.

"We have a lot of people, not only just like the players, but everybody that's sacrificing so that we can be where we at right now," Johnson said. "We have an amazing staff. We have amazing chefs. We have an amazing video room, our coaches, like all the people that don't necessarily be able to get that notoriety or that shine, those are the people that are clocking in every day."

"Our equipment guy, Cory, Nico, Sarah, people like that that come in, they smile every day, regardless of how they feeling, because they know that they're coming in and they're part of something, it means it's bigger than basketball," Johnson said. "When we was 22 wins, or now that we're at (52) wins, I feel like those people come in each and every day and give us 100%. To people on the outside, you guys won't see that, but I feel like they're the engines."

"We go out and we perform and we do great, and we play together, we have fun and win and things like that," Johnson said. "But without our medical staff, Miss Marilyn, Xavi, Logan, Jonathan, without our video team, they come in here and they get us ready for every game, they putting their body on the line making it possible. BP, Curtis, John, Jonathan, all those guys, Jack... each and every day they come and they give it 100% to make sure that we're able to come out here and be able to do our best."

All of those people felt it when Wemby hit that shot. And Keldon, well, he felt them feel it.

"When you have something like that it means so much more than just playing for myself," Johnson said. "I play for everybody, because a lot of sacrifices are being put into what we have here in San Antonio, amazing team. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world... Every single day, they come in, regardless of anything that's going on, and they make sure that we okay, they make sure that we good, ready to go, anything that we may need to get done. They make sure that it's done, and it's just all behind the scenes, but that's what makes this work. That's what makes it worth it."