Wemby, Keldon, and Mitch Johnson Officially Named Finalists for Regular-Season Awards

During the playoff games on Sunday, the NBA announced the Spurs' superstar, coach, and sixth man as candidates for a number of awards.

Oct 17, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) forward Keldon Johnson (3) bump chests before the game against the Indiana Pacers at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO - As they geared up for the team's first playoff game as a group on Sunday afternoon, the Spurs learned that several of their leaders are officially finalists for a number of regular-season NBA awards.

It's not exactly a surprise, but Victor Wembanyama is up for Defensive Player of the Year and Keldon Johnson is a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. A bit later on, the league named Wemby as a finalist for MVP and recognized Mitch Johnson as a Coach of the Year candidate.

"Individual awards, accolades, recognition, acknowledgement is important, and I think when you have a team that understands that the greater good for the team and the group is the most important thing, it allows people to feel good about not only acknowledging others, but also being acknowledged in the moment," Mitch Johnson said recently.

"Sometimes that can feel awkward for people in a group setting or a team setting, and I think we've got a very good balance of not avoiding individual recognition, acknowledgement and aspirations, and also understanding there is not one thing that's more important than the team goal," Johnson said.

Apr 10, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson talks with forward Keldon Johnson (3) during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Johnson earned the nomination alongside Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff and Boston's Joe Mazzulla, and all three coaches have led their teams well beyond expectations for this season. Johnson won Western Conference Coach of the Month in December and February, the only of the three nominees to win two of those this season.

"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 in December. "The acknowledgement is real, but I think it's more about the whole than the coach."

Asked if he'd be surprised if he didn't become the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, Wembanyama said that he would be and asked who the other candidates would be. The answer is Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren and Detroit's Ausar Thompson. As far as Most Valuable Player goes, three-time winner Nikola Jokic is a finalist but the award is expected to go to the reigning MVP of both the regular season and Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Wembanyama has been open and honest about his desire to win all of the awards.

"I do care deeply about it," Wembanyama said. "I think that of the greats that are in the Hall of Fame, or the best of all time, they have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career. If I want to make my spot among the greats, I got to try to not miss any occasion to put my name up there."

Keldon Johnson's two competitors for Sixth Man of the Year are Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Denver's Tim Hardaway Jr. This season Johnson played in all 82 games, averaging 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists as the emotional leader of this San Antonio team. He has also stated his goal of winning this award, and is set to appear in his first playoffs ever.

“I’m very efficient, I’m a star in my role, and my team is winning," he said. "I feel like when you put those things together, why not? How can you not say I’m the Sixth Man of the Year? I feel like I show up every day and I do what I do.”

The Spurs haven't had an MVP since Tim Duncan won back to back in 2002 and 2003, and Kawhi Leonard was the last Spur nominated in 2017. Leonard is also the most recent San Antonio player to win Defensive Player of the Year, doing so in 2015 and 2016. Gregg Popovich won Coach of the Year in 2003, 2012, and 2014, and Manu Ginobili is the first and only Spur to win Sixth Man of the Year in 2008.