When I sat down in the American Airlines Center to watch the Spurs play the Mavericks in the opening game of the season, one person I wanted to watch was Mitch Johnson. He drew criticism last year from fans who believed he was too passive on the sidelines. In his first official game as San Antonio's head coach, he was anything but, bringing the fire during the action and when addressing the team in timeouts.
Mitch Johnson is intense pic.twitter.com/5H1dhR93FP
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) October 23, 2025
One of Wednesday's clips of Coach Johnson motivating his team went viral because of it. Spurs fans were loving the passion their new leader displayed. After the success experienced with Coach Popovich and his aggressive coaching style, Spurs Nation knows what they want out of their captain. At the shootaround ahead of the Pelicans game, reporters asked Devin Vassell about Mitch's intensity.
Devin Vassell on Mitch Johnson's intensity and how it compares to Coach Pop's. pic.twitter.com/mxsYI95uXy
— Jah (@JahlilWill) October 24, 2025
"He's always laser-focused and locked in, and that helps us stay locked in too, so I appreciate Coach Mitch, and he's on all of us... Pop is different; I love Coach Pop to death, but Mitch is up there, too." - Vassell
Mitch Johnson is passing the vibes check
Coach Pop has probably been watching his protege like a proud father. Mitch has shown poise, focus, and clarity early in his young coaching career. He's only going to get better as he gains experience, and having a generational, yet coachable player like Victor Wembanyama will help. El Jefe had a similar benefit with a guy named Tim Duncan. You may have heard of him.
What was striking during the game was how locked into the huddle everyone was. There were several players who didn't play, but all of them were listening to Coach Johnson's message intently. You'll often see guys in street clothes doing anything but listen to whatever is going on during a timeout, but the Spurs are motivated.
They want to learn, and as Wemby said in Wednesday's postgame, they're tired of losing. They're acting like it. The offense wasn't flawless, but it was intentional. There weren't many errant passes, fumbling of the ball, or carelessness. San Antonio ran a more disciplined offense, taking advantage of mismatches and trusting each other to make the right play.
The defense was just as impressive. It didn't fall off a cliff when Wembanyama went to the bench, as it has in years past. Similar to the offense, it wasn't perfect, but they were connected, and it got better as the game went on. By the end of the game, you thought it had been since the Mavericks still couldn't score 100 points.
Mitch Johnson clearly has the ear of the players. That's not surprising considering the ringing endorsement they all gave after last season ended. He's passionate, knowledgeable, and he's got the intensity. That's all Spurs fans needed to know.