<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-continues-downplaying-speculation');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Spurs’ Keldon Johnson continues downplaying speculation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/San-Antonio-Spurs-forward-Keldon-Johnson-0-and-teammates-react-after-drawing-a-foul-on-a-basket-during-the-second-half-against-the-Toronto-Raptors-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Spurs’ Keldon Johnson continues downplaying speculation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-20T21:09:02-07:00">May 20th, 9:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-20T21:09:02-07:00">May 20th, 9:09pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>To know San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson is to know what he’s going to say when he addresses the media. Every situation is met with the same attitude. Whether he’s mentioned as part of a possible trade, or his offensive touches dwindle, or his role changes, the longest tenured Spur publicly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-fires-back-constant-critics-game">displays the same mindset</a>.</p><p>“This year, I faced it head-on.”</p><p>Johnson said that in answering a question from ClutchPoints about whether his consistency could be attributed to this having been his first full season as a sixth man. In truth, Johnson could have been talking about any of a number of challenges he’s faced.</p><p>“It was a big change for me last year. That’s no secret,” the former Kentucky Wildcat shared about his relatively new role.</p><p>When the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-trade-grade-deaaron-fox-blockbuster">Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox</a> in February, Johnson’s name surfaced regarding potential inclusion. When the team was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-can-land-both-demar-derozan-lauri-markkanen">interested in dealing for Lauri Markkanen</a> last summer, his name hit that rumor mill. Any time the Silver and Black are said to be a player in a potential exchange, Keldon Johnson’s name finds its way into the fold.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Keldon-Johnson-runs-back-on-defense.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2>Keldon Johnson breaks down being ‘underappreciated’</h2><p>At 12.7 points and five rebounds per game off the bench, Johnson may have been the most consistent Spur this season. Factor everything in, and ClutchPoints asked the former Kentucky Wildcat if he felt taken for granted and, perhaps, underappreciated.</p><p>“Nah.”</p><p>“I feel like sometimes your teammates play better,” Johnson then elaborated. “You’ve got to be happy for that. Sometimes it may be night. I may score 20. Sometimes Julian may score 20. The part of being a good teammate is that you’ve got to be happy when you see a teammate having success. There were some nights like that this year. I was happy for my teammates. It’s a little different. There’s nothing wrong with it being different, you’ve just got to roll with the punches and adjust.”</p><p>Three seasons ago, the Chesterfield, Virginia native led <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-deaaron-fox-confident-take-whats-next">San Antonio in scoring at 22 points per game</a>. The team drafted Victor Wembanyama that ensuing summer while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-devin-vassell-drops-candid-take-on-role-next-to-wemby-deaaron-fox">2020 lottery pick Devin Vassell</a> continued his ascent. During the 2023-2024 campaign, Gregg Popovich moved Johnson out of the starting lineup in an attempt to boost scoring from the second unit. It’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Fu8iG_CFg" rel="noopener">a role he continued this season</a>.</p><p>“I guess in a way, yeah, for sure,” the 29th pick of the 2019 first round responded to ClutchPoints about whether coming off the bench for a full season aided his production.</p><p>“You try to build consistency and having the same role all season. I was just building on that and really growing my game on and off the court.”</p><p>Johnson’s contract becomes even more team-friendly this summer. After making $20 million and $19 million the last two seasons, he’ll make $17 million in each of the next two.</p><p>“I just tried to be as consistent as possible, not only performance-wise, but teammate-wise, being with my teammates and making sure that I’m being a teammate that everybody wants to play with.”</p><p>Chatter is seemingly often trying to surround Johnson with new teammates. The 25-year-old veteran appears to handle that talk just like he does everything else.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Spurs’ Keldon Johnson continues downplaying speculation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-fires-back-constant-critics-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Keldon Johnson fires back at constant critics of his game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/San-Antonio-Spurs-forward-Keldon-Johnson-0-and-teammates-react-after-drawing-a-foul-on-a-basket-during-the-second-half-against-the-Toronto-Raptors-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Spurs’ Keldon Johnson fires back at constant critics of his game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-27T13:56:47-07:00">April 27th, 1:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-27T13:56:47-07:00">April 27th, 1:56pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Every time the San Antonio Spurs find themselves in the midst of NBA trade talk – which has been often since the franchise drafted Victor Wembanyama two years ago – Keldon Johnson’s name gets floated as part of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-trade-grade-deaaron-fox-blockbuster">move that could bolster Wemby’s supporting cast</a>. Not sometimes. Not most of the time. Pretty much every time. In the meantime, all Johnson does is play well no matter what’s been asked of him.</p><p>“We hear all the noise and we keep working. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for me,” the longest tenured Spur admitted.</p><p>“As a player, nobody can tell me what I can’t do.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-honest-mitch-johnson-assessment-gregg-popovich-absence">Johnson pointed to the evolution of his role</a> with the Spurs since being drafted late in the 2019 first round. An energy and defensive go-getter for the better part of his first three years, Johnson led the Silver and Black in scoring during the 2022-2023 campaign.</p><p>“Fourth year, I was the guy. I averaged 22 points in the league. And then, changes happened,” Johnson said, essentially alluding to the drafting of Wembanyama.</p><p>“Instead of complaining, I kept my head high, I keep working. I don’t make no excuses.”</p><h2>Keldon Johnson counters naysayers</h2><p>While probably the most<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-credits-keldon-johnson-spurs-collapse"> consistent Spur this season</a>, Johnson played in 77 of their 82 games without starting a single one of them.</p><p>“I’m versatile. I can come off the bench. I can guard. I feel like I can bring every phrase as a player,” Johnson exclaimed.</p><p>It’s a role that started a couple of months into last season when Gregg Popovich moved him to the bench in order to provide a punch with the reserve unit.</p><p>“Whatever this team needs me to do, I’m available to do it. That’s just my mindset. As a basketball player, I don’t feel there’s any limitations on what I can and how I can affect the game,” Johnson continued.</p><p>Three summers ago, Johnson signed a four-year, $80 million rookie scale contract extension that runs through the end of 2026-27. This past season, he made $19 million and is set to earn $17.5 million in each of the next two. It’s a very reasonable deal for career averages of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo_-exxrVRE" rel="noopener">15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in under 29 minutes per contest</a>.</p><p>“It’s a constant feel for me to see the chatter, to see the things that people say I can’t do, but I feel like I improve every season,” Johnson revealed. “The role may be different. People’s expectations may be different, but I feel like grow in everything I need to grow in each and every year.”</p><p>The former Kentucky Wildcat won’t turn 26 years old until shortly before next season starts. Because of that, his game still has plenty of room to grow.</p><p>“It all boils down to: everybody always has something that Keldon can’t do,” Johnson said. “You always have people that say, ‘Keldon isn’t necessarily the best defender, Keldon isn’t this, Keldon isn’t that.’ I always keep my head down and work.</p><p>“I came into the season in the best shape of my life. I came into the season mentally ready, physically ready. I was ready to do whatever I had to do in order to put my team in the best situation to win.”</p><p>It’s a mantra that’s served the Spurs well. No matter what anyone says.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs’ Keldon Johnson fires back at constant critics of his game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-honest-mitch-johnson-assessment-gregg-popovich-absence');   ga('set', 'title', 'Keldon Johnson’s honest Mitch Johnson assessment amid Gregg Popovich’s absence');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Spurs-news-Keldon-Johnsons-honest-Mitch-Johnson-assessment-amid-Gregg-Popovichs-absence.jpg"></figure><h1>Keldon Johnson’s honest Mitch Johnson assessment amid Gregg Popovich’s absence</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-17T10:51:25-07:00">March 17th, 10:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-17T10:51:25-07:00">March 17th, 10:51am</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s been a tough season for the San Antonio Spurs. Perhaps no one has felt it more than Mitch Johnson. The assistant coach who took over for Hall-of-Famer Gregg Popovich very early on has been in charge during a year that started with promise but has seen since the losses of Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox for the season. Keldon Johnson is still healthy. He sums up Johnson’s work succinctly.</p><p>“I feel like he’s done an amazing job,” the longest-tenured Spur said.</p><p>That the results haven’t been amazing doesn’t matter in this context.</p><p>“It’s been huge, it’s been huge. Coach has been able to pretty much just calm everything down with everything that’s happened,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell added.</p><p>Very much in the Western Conference <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-san-antonio-preaching-balance-playoff-pursuit">postseason picture through the first four months of the season</a>, the Spurs have tailed off since the All-Star break because of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyamas-2-word-text-to-teammates">Wemby’s injury</a>.</p><h2>Mitch Johnson weathers Spurs storms</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/San-Antonio-Spurs-interim-coach-Mitch-Johnson-observes-the-first-half-against-the-New-Orleans-Pelicans-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>38 years old, Johnson <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-mitchell-johnson-long-winding-road-compliments-former-players-nba-trade-deadline-tre-jones-zach-collins-sidy-cissoko-deaaron-fox">couldn’t have predicted</a> how this season would play out back in mid-October. About to begin his ninth season with the Spurs organization and sixth in San Antonio, the former Austin Spurs assistant took the reigns when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-gregg-popovich-breaks-silence-after-suffering-stroke-november">Popovich suffered a mild stroke in very nearly November</a>.</p><p>Three months to the day later, the Silver and Black <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-trade-grade-deaaron-fox-blockbuster">traded for Fox on February 2</a>. Two and half weeks after that, Wembanyama was pronounced out for the year. Fast forward three weeks and it was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-deaaron-fox-stunning-reality-looming-surgery">Fox who was shut down for the rest of the season</a>.</p><p>“With Coach Pop, to Vic, to De’Aaron, to whatever injuries and illnesses, whatever has happened through the season, he’s been able to just calm it down and say, look, ‘We’ll just take this one game at a time, one day a time’ and we’ve just got to trust it,” Vassell revealed.</p><p>No matter who they’ve lost, Johnson hasn’t lost sight of what’s helped defined the Spurs for a quarter century.</p><p>“He keeps telling us that we’ve got to hang our hats on the defensive end. I think if we keep doing that and taking pride on that end, we’ll be good.”</p><p>A recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IL38DEjT7Y" rel="noopener">119-115 victory vs. the New Orleans Pelicans</a> gave San Antonio a second win in their last three games <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mitch-johnsons-take-on-catastrophic-spurs-loss-to-wests-worst-team">during a stretch in which they’ve lost</a> nine of 14 games since Wemby was diagnosed with blood clots.</p><p>“It’s a special job for Mitch to be able to – so many things have happened this year and to keep everybody together and keep leading the team and things like that,” Johnson said.</p><p>Without the winningest coach in NBA history, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/inside-victor-wembanyama-rookie-of-the-year-numbers-feats">reigning Rookie of the Year</a>, and their newly acquired 2023 All-Star, the Spurs are almost certainly headed for another lottery.</p><p>“(He) Keeps guiding us and inspiring us to go out there and take care of business. I feel like he’s done an amazing job. I feel there’s been ups and downs, as expected. Through it all, he’s continued to lead us in the right direction,” Johnson concluded.</p><p>Thanks in part to Johnson, it’s a direction that’ll take shape again next season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Keldon Johnson’s honest Mitch Johnson assessment amid Gregg Popovich’s absence

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-admits-shaken-up-injury-scare');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Keldon Johnson admits to being ‘shaken up’ by injury scare');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Keldon-Johnson-admits-to-being-shaken-up-by-injury-scare.jpg"></figure><h1>Spurs’ Keldon Johnson admits to being ‘shaken up’ by injury scare</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T18:26:44-08:00">December 19th, 6:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T18:26:44-08:00">December 19th, 6:26pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Though Keldon Johnson was out for ten days with a left calf strain, he missed just two games in that time frame. Fortunately for Johnson, the San Antonio Spurs schedule featured only a pair of contests during that span. It’s especially comforting for Johnson considering his time out came as a result of a dreaded non-contact injury.</p><p>“For sure, I was definitely a little shaken up, obviously,” the longest tenured Spur said.</p><p>Johnson left the team’s December 8th game vs. the New Orleans Pelicans with less than seven and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. He was standing near the corner on a Spurs possession when he felt enough discomfort in his calf to not only exit the game but head to the locker room as well. He didn’t return that night.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Keldon Johnson (left calf) left the Spurs-Pelicans game and did not return after this strange injury. There has been no official update on his status. Here are the last few moments of him on the court. Watch. 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PorVida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PorVida</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pelicans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pelicans</a> <a href="https://t.co/buSOCJ5GJV">pic.twitter.com/buSOCJ5GJV</a></p><p>— SpursRΞPORT (@SpursReporter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpursReporter/status/1866171489558680068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p> </p><p>After the game, acting head coach Mitch Johnson didn’t know full details but downplayed the severity, adding that the trainers initially thought it was a cramp before they looked more closely at his calf.</p><p>“Out of the situation, got the best possibility that could’ve happened,” the head coach admitted as Johnson prepares to return. “I’m glad at that, I’m blessed. I’m just ready to be back with my teammates on the court.”</p><h2>Keldon Johnson expected back for the Spurs</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/New-Orleans-Pelicans-forward-Herbert-Jones-2-dribbles-against-San-Antonio-Spurs-forward-Keldon-Johnson-0.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Spurs’ recent injury report suggests Johnson will play the next time the Silver and Black take the court.</p><p>“I’m feeling good. Stacking the days, I had another great day today,” Johnson said. “The game plan: get some rest; go to the arena, get there pretty early; get some treatment and stuff; get warmed up; and then make a decision from there.”</p><p>A first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Johnson is now in his sixth season in San Antonio. He’s the only Spurs player who was with the team before the COVID-19 pandemic. He averaged a career high 22 points per game in 2022-2023. This season, while playing in 23 of the team’s 26 games, he’s scoring 12.7 per contest.</p><p>“I’m glad it worked out how it worked out because, obviously, I didn’t want to miss too many games. It’s hard for me not playing, I feel like I’m a big part of the team.”</p><p>The coaching staff <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-keldon-johnson-opens-up-tough-sacrifice-2023-24-season">moved Johnson from a starter to the second unit</a> during last season. He finished the year scoring 15.7 per contest. It’s a role that’s continued this season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-chris-paul-signing-forces-keldon-johnson-jersey-number-change">as the Spurs added Chris Paul</a>, Harrison Barnes and the number four overall pick this past June, Stephon Castle.</p><p>“Being back has been my main priority,” Johnson said. “I’ve been locked in, I’ve been trying to do everything I can to make sure I optimize my time when I’m not with the team.”</p><p>Easily the Spurs most vocal and rambunctious player, Johnson is fifth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding.</p><p>“I’m back and I’m in a good position right now. Hopefully, it’ll carry over.”</p><p>The Spurs hope so as well.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs’ Keldon Johnson admits to being ‘shaken up’ by injury scare

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-credits-keldon-johnson-spurs-collapse');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mark Daigneault credits Keldon Johnson, Spurs for Thunder collapse');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Thunder-news-Mark-Daigneault-credits-Keldon-Johnson-Spurs-for-OKC-collapse.jpg"></figure><h1>Mark Daigneault credits Keldon Johnson, Spurs for Thunder collapse</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-20T12:20:00-08:00">November 20th, 12:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-20T12:20:00-08:00">November 20th, 12:20pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before Oklahoma City Thunder forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-plays-blame-game-loss-spurs-without-victor-wembanyama">Jalen Williams played the blame game following Tuesday’s loss</a>, head coach Mark Daigneault credited Keldon Johnson and the San Antonio Spurs. Without their star, Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs outscored the Thunder 33-9, including a 16-0 run from the end of the second quarter into the second half, punctuated by Johnson’s 22 first-half points.</p><p>After the game, Daigneault zeroed in on what <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT6x3bB_wOQ&amp;t=298s" rel="noopener">went wrong</a> against the Spurs.</p><p>“I just thought on both ends of the floor we didn’t play, clearly, good enough to win. Give San Antonio credit. I thought they played really hard from the jump,” Daigneaulg said. “[They]played with great effort. Mitch is doing a great job. They played with a lot of confidence from the beginning of the game. They went and earned that game. They deserved to win.”</p><p>Spurs assistant coach Mitchell Johnson, filling in for head coach Gregg Popovich amid a medical leave of absence, guided San Antonio from its first and only double-digit deficit in the second quarter. The Thunder, ahead 48-38 in the second quarter, were on the wrong end of a 16-0 run that stretched into the third quarter and eventually gave the Spurs a 21-point lead (98-77) with 10:05 left in the fourth quarter.</p><h2><b>Jalen Williams, Thunder fourth-quarter rally falls short vs Spurs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams_43d817.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>From a 21-point deficit, Mark Daigneault, Jalen Williams, and the Thunder played catch-up before falling six points short against the Spurs toward the end of the final frame. With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-get-tough-alex-caruso-injury-update-mavs-game">Thunder’s All-Defensive First Team guard Alex Caruso</a> back, Oklahoma City rallied defensive stops while Williams scored 11 of his 27 points in the final ten minutes of regulation. Still, it wasn’t enough to overcome Keldon Johnson’s first-half play and the Spurs’ collective effort.</p><p>After the game, Daigneault talked about Johnson’s impact.</p><p>“I think he got some confidence going in the first half. I thought we had control of the game. We were up by like ten, and then they got some confidence going and rhythm going,” Daigneault added. “They had us on our heels. He was in the middle of all that. He got some clean looks early to fall. And then, his confidence lifted as he finished the first half. I thought we did a decent job on him in the second half.</p><p>“That’s when the game started to get away from us a little bit, during that stretch in the second quarter, and he had everything to do with that,” Daigneault concluded.</p><p>On the second night of a back-to-back, the Thunder will host the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.5	7.5	1.5	-	0.5

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.5	7.5	1.5	-	0.5

Keldon Johnson

Latest Keldon Johnson News

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Spurs’ Keldon Johnson admits to being ‘shaken up’ by injury scare

Mark Daigneault credits Keldon Johnson, Spurs for Thunder collapse

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