SAN ANTONIO – Mitch Johnson was destined to achieve many “firsts” in his first full season as San Antonio Spurs head coach. On Friday, Johnson earned another “first.”
The NBA announced Johnson as its Western Conference Coach of the Month for the month of December. Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla took home Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors for December.
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On the court, the Spurs had one of their best months in recent memory. San Antonio went 11-3, which included three wins against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, six of seven wins on the road and made a run to the NBA Cup Championship Game in Las Vegas.
Per league rules, the NBA Cup Championship Game is not counted toward the overall win-loss record in a typical 82-game season.
Johnson and the Spurs earned some of December’s success without Victor Wembanyama, who was out with an injury. San Antonio went 4-1 to start last month before Wembanyama returned to action in a reserve role on Dec. 13 for the Spurs’ NBA Cup Semifinal win against the Thunder.
On Christmas Day, San Antonio defeated Oklahoma City for the third time in 12 days. The Spurs victory garnered 6.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, the most-watched second game in ABC/ESPN’s annual Christmas Day quintuple-header in eight years.
Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 25, San Antonio also put together an eight-game winning streak.
After legendary coach Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke early in November 2024, Johnson was tabbed as the interim head coach for the remainder of that season. Johnson went 32-45 over the last 77 games of 2024-25.
Currently, the Spurs (24-9) have the second-best record in the Western Conference. San Antonio will face the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Indianapolis.
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