Spurs Mitch Johnson Named Western Conference Coach of the Month

San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson has earned Western Conference Coach of the Month honors, the NBA announced on Friday.

The Spurs went a blistering 12-3 in December, including three wins over the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder, an impressive NBA Cup run, and a key stretch without star big man Victor Wembanyama. Johnson won the award just a few months into his first full season as the head coach.

"It is in my opinion a reflection of the team success, and obviously that's a byproduct of the operation from top to bottom, the players bringing that to life," Johnson said. "The acknowledgement is real, but I think it's more about the whole than the coach."

Johnson led the Spurs to a 9-3 record without Wembanyama, a stretch that lasted five games into December. The only loss in those five games came against the lengthy Cavs in Cleveland with Luke Kornet sidelined as well. Kornet iced the previous win in Orlando with a thunderous block and iconic pose.

In their last game before Wemby's return, the Spurs went to Los Angeles and beat the Lakers in the NBA Cup quarterfinal 132-119. That sent San Antonio to Las Vegas where they announced themselves as a threat by ending Oklahoma City's 16-game win streak.

Within 12 days, the Spurs all but ended the Thunder's ambitions of chasing 73-9 with back-to-back blowout wins. The first was in San Antonio, the next came on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City.

The Spurs assembled an eight-game winning streak, and showcased their depth as a different player led the team in scoring for each of the first seven wins. Their offensive rating of 118.9 points per 100 possessions ranked fifth in the NBA, and their defensive rating of 112 ranked sixth.

In the Spurs' final game of 2025 they avenged their NBA Cup Final defeat with their largest comeback win of the year, beating the Knicks after trailing by as many as 19.

"We were not very good for a lot of stretches in the first half, and the competitive response and the energy that we were putting as the game went on into the right areas, we felt it," Johnson said after the win. "I think that team is very physical and competitive, and if you don't match that, along with sharp execution, they can systematically wear you down at times... I was just extremely proud of guys that stepped up tonight, and especially that group in the fourth quarter."

Johnson has been clear all year that he's focused on the process and the details more than the results, and that approach is one of the main reasons the Spurs have achieved such impressive results. After a pair of disappointing losses where shots didn't fall, Johnson spoke frankly about controlling the controllables.

"I think that's something that we have to understand, that (missing shots) can't dictate the process or the approach of what's going to go into trying to produce the outcomes," Johnson said. "Stuff that goes in prior to the outcome has to be what we value, and then typically, if you do that consistently, over time you get the outcomes that you like, or more times than not."

The Spurs are currently 24-9 and the 2 seed in a stacked Western Conference, on pace for a 60-win season.

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