San Antonio Spurs guard Keldon Johnson has earned recognition as the NBA’s premier reserve player this season.
The versatile guard appeared in every contest for San Antonio, coming off the bench in all 82 games and joining an exclusive group as just the second NBA player in ten years to accomplish this feat. Johnson also made franchise history by becoming the first Spurs reserve to reach 1,000 points in a single season. Throughout the campaign, San Antonio consistently promoted him as the league’s top bench player.
NBA voters validated that assessment Wednesday evening when Johnson was named Sixth Man of the Year, making him only the second Spurs player to claim this honor alongside Manu Ginobili, who won in 2008. The recognition marks Johnson’s first individual NBA accolade, adding to his gold medal from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as part of Team USA.
“I started for a long time,” Johnson said on ESPN. “Now, it’s my time to come off the bench. I just continue to analyze the game, come off the bench, go in there and just do my thing.”
Johnson defeated Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Denver’s Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award. Jaquez paced all bench players in scoring and double-figure scoring performances for Miami, while Hardaway connected on a reserve-leading 205 three-pointers and ranked fourth in scoring for Denver.
This marked Hardaway and Jaquez’s ninth-place tie in 2024 voting. Hardaway previously finished fifth in 2021, tenth in 2017, and tied for thirteenth during his 2014 rookie campaign.
The honor caps an extraordinary two-season stretch for Johnson, who has logged 159 games over the past two years exclusively as a reserve. No other NBA player has approached that total without making a single start during this timeframe.
“I wanted to be part of something special here in San Antonio,” Johnson said. “I knew that in order for me to really be the best for our team that coming off the bench was probably my best possibility. At first, it was tough. I had to (control) my ego and put the team first. After that, the sky was the limit.”
This represents the third postseason award announcement and San Antonio’s second honor, marking the first with genuine suspense regarding the winner.
Victor Wembanyama made history Monday as the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year selection in San Antonio franchise history. Tuesday saw Oklahoma City’s reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capture Clutch Player of the Year honors with 96 of 100 first-place votes.
Thursday will bring the Sportsmanship Award announcement, featuring division representatives Miami’s Bam Adebayo (Southeast), San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes (Southwest), Gilgeous-Alexander (Northwest), Golden State’s Al Horford (Pacific), Indiana’s T.J. McConnell (Central), and Boston’s Derrick White (Atlantic). Players vote for this award rather than the media panel that determines most other honors.
Friday’s Most Improved Player reveal will feature Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Portland’s Deni Avdija, or Detroit’s Jalen Duren.
Additional awards awaiting announcement include Coach of the Year (Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson, or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla), Rookie of the Year (Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg, or Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel), and MVP (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama, or Denver’s Nikola Jokic).
