The Spurs’ Keldon Johnson conundrum

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.

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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…

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Publish date : 2026-09-24 23:01:00

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