SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson was named the 2025-26 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday.
Johnson (63 first-place votes) beat out Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez, Jr. (34 first-place votes) for the honor. Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished third in the voting, did not garner any first-place votes.
In a testament to the strength of San Antonio’s depth, rookie guard Dylan Harper earned two third-place votes and finished in 11th place overall.
Johnson joins Spurs legend Manu Ginobili (2007-08) as the only Sixth Man of the Year winners to don the Silver and Black.
This season, Johnson scored a franchise-record 1,081 points off the bench. Ginobili scored 927 in his award-winning season.
A global panel of 100 media members selected Johnson as this year’s winner.
Johnson averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game during the regular season — his best season as a reserve.
Johnson was primarily a starter in four of his first five seasons with the Spurs. Several roster changes prompted the team to move him to a reserve role he has since embraced.
Now in his seventh NBA season, Johnson is the longest-tenured active member of the Spurs. His teammates refer to him as the “heart and soul” of the team.
This season, Johnson was the only bench player to appear in all 82 regular season games.
Johnson is the second Spur to win an end-of-season NBA award in 2025-26.
Victor Wembanyama captured the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday night.
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