The San Antonio Spurs are absolutely loaded with top-tier guards like Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and De’Aaron Fox, and yeah, there have been a ton of concerns about how Coach Mitch Johnson is gonna juggle all that talent. It’s a real dilemma when you’re stacking up players at one position, especially with limited roster spots. But De’Aaron Fox, one of the veterans around Victor Wembanyama, just dropped a truth bomb: he believes this coaching staff has what it takes to make every single one of them thrive.
Coach Johnson’s Track Record Speaks Volumes
Let’s be real, Coach Mitch Johnson doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone in the general NBA fanbase. This guy stepped into the shoes of a legend, Coach Gregg Popovich, and has done nothing but win. In just two seasons, he’s racked up 107 victories across the regular season and the NBA Playoffs, rocking a sweet 58.8% career win percentage as a head coach. And it’s not just about the wins, right? He’s helped guys become stars and award winners. We’ve seen Victor Wembanyama become a perennial candidate for NBA Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year under his watch. Keldon Johnson even snagged Sixth Man of the Year in that same year. So when people start worrying about player development, especially with Fox, Castle, and Harper, who all play a similar style, it just feels like they’re forgetting what this staff has already done. The burden of figuring out how to get all three of these amazing guards into the rotation is on them, but Fox isn’t sweating it.
Billy Donovan’s Secret Sauce Is Already In The Building
Fox’s confidence isn’t just a gut feeling, either. He believes in their system, obviously, but a massive part of it is having Assistant Coach Billy Donovan on the same staff. Donovan has straight up shown he can play three guards effectively, and Fox pointed to his time coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder. Remember that 2019-20 NBA season? Donovan had Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chris Paul all on the court together. Fox summed it up perfectly, saying, “It’s been great. One thing we’ve talked about is him being able to coach three guards at the same time. When he was head coach in OKC, he had Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chris Paul. So, he’s been able to make it work. That team wasn’t supposed to go to the playoffs at the time and then ended up playing well because they figured it out. That’s one thing he’s bringing to us.” That Thunder team wasn’t expected to do much, but they ended up winning 44 games and made the postseason, even taking the Houston Rockets to seven games in the first round. Donovan fixed that exact conundrum, proving he could manage star potential and make it work rotationally and schematically.
With Coach Donovan and Coach Johnson’s combined experience in player development, there’s no reason to doubt. Harper, Castle, and Fox are all expected to be front-runners for major NBA awards in the 2026-27 season. This season is going to be wild, and with these coaches at the helm, the sky’s the limit for these guards.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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