The Spurs got to the Finals last season mostly on the strength of their core players. It’s typically how things go for contenders, since they are not expected to field a deep rotation as the playoff rounds go on. The strange thing is that the reigning Sixth Man of the Year was one of the guys who just couldn’t contribute as much as he was counted on to when on the floor.
Keldon Johnson played under 20 minutes in both the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, and the Spurs were better with him off the floor against Oklahoma City while doing better with him playing in a much smaller role than he had in the regular season in the Finals. Something just wasn’t right for the longest-tenured Spur, and the timing of the struggles couldn’t have been worse.
Johnson is eligible for an extension but has not received one yet. It feels unlikely one is in the cards, but that was probably the case no matter what, as the Spurs deal with potentially getting past the tax line next season and need all the flexibility they can muster. Still, having a breakout year in a new role made Johnson seem like a core piece instead of a likely future casualty to the cap. The postseason issues, along with other developments, might have changed that equation.
The first thing to clarify is that Johnson didn’t do anything differently on offense in the playoffs. His shot chart is almost identical to the one he had in the regular season; his rebounding was good; he shot about the same from beyond the arc. His main problem came when he attacked the rim. He was atrocious from the restricted area, shooting a paltry 46 percent, a gigantic gap from the very solid 65 percent he shot in the regular season. The simple explanation is that he faced better rim protectors, and what worked against lesser competition didn’t work against top teams.
The tape is kinder to Johnson. Watching his forays to the rim, it’s clear that he couldn’t find the right touch, but he still used his body to try to create separation and some good looks, by his standards. A few of those shots just rimmed out. The problem for Johnson is that if he’s not having success attacking the rim, there’s nothing special about his game. He’s a good but not exceptional rebounder. He tries on defense but will never be a major plus on that end. The three-pointer averages out to being solid, but it’s anything but consistent, with some looks hitting nothing but net and others the side of the backboard. When the battering ram aspect of his game is missing, he loses his best trait.
Luckily for the Spurs (and probably bad for Johnson), Dylan Harper took over as the rim pressure provider off the rim. The rookie took 233 shots in the postseason, and 115 of them came in the restricted area, where he converted at a 66 percent clip. It was a breakout performance for Harper, who looked ready for a bigger role next season. Positionally, he doesn’t overlap with Johnson, but his driving ability, along with the other guards’, could move Keldon to even more of an off-ball role, as Harper likely becomes the new sixth man.
It could all work out for the best for Johnson and the Spurs. He shot 40 percent on threes in his third year in the league on good volume, so he could take advantage of the looks the guards create for him and get close to that number again. He’s also much better at attacking when he catches on the move than from a standstill, so he could turn kick-out passes into drives to maintain his threes-and-shots-at-the-rim-only diet. His role might get smaller, but he could become more efficient. Johnson has proved to be adaptable in the past, after all.
The question is, if his role does shrink, how good would he need to be both in the regular season and the playoffs to become a priority next offseason? Especially considering San Antonio has Julian Champagnie, Tobias Harris, and Carter Bryant in the books to compete with him for minutes now, and those three will be in the books next season, while Johnson’s contract expires after this one. His leadership gives him an edge over the others, at least in the locker room, but the money already committed to players could force Keldon to either take a smaller deal or leave the franchise that drafted him.
The 2026/27 season hasn’t even started yet, so it might seem premature to think about the free agency that comes after it, but with the current cap rules, it’s hard not to look ahead. Still, more important than figuring out how Johnson fits on the books in the future is determining what role he plays while he’s still under contract. The abundance of wings, the emergence of Harper as a potentially elite bench piece that would move Johnson down on the pecking order, and how well Johnson once again adjusts could impact his place in the rotation and, eventually, in the team’s plans going forward.
Looking at next year, Johnson could either be a key piece off the bench who thrives next to guards who push the pace and draw the attention of the defense or a bit player if Harris’ more well-rounded offensive game and Bryant’s defense and athleticism endear them more to the coaching staff. Either scenario seems just as likely. And even if Johnson plays well in the regular season, he’ll need to prove he can also get it done in the playoffs, or retaining him on anything but a very team-friendly deal would be hard to justify.
The contending Spurs have not faced many tough decisions yet. What happens with Johnson, a fan favorite and the team’s emotional leader, both this season and after it, could make the ugly aspects of trying to build a championship team finally become clear.
