SAN ANTONIO — Keldon Johnson has won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, the NBA announced Wednesday. He joins Spurs teammate Victor Wembanyama as award winners this week. Wembanyama was named the NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year on Monday.
Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward, has been dubbed the Spurs’ “heart and soul” by everyone in the building since the start of this season. He beat out Miami Heat wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Denver Nuggets sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award. The 26-year-old Johnson averaged 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 51.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.3 percent shooting from deep.
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Johnson’s candidacy was as much about his work as a teammate off the floor as it was about his play on it. During the Spurs’ NBA Cup run in December, his excitement to buy a llama with his prize money became a rallying cry for the team’s success. In January, The Athletic profiled Johnson’s work as the locker room DJ, blasting songs like Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” to establish a carefree and jovial atmosphere. When The Athletic visited Johnson on his Texas Hill Country ranch earlier this month, he spoke of how the team leans into his personality and lets his energy carry.
“I don’t have to do anything different than just be myself.”
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On the court, Johnson has been instrumental to the team’s energy and versatility every night. He gets more excited for his teammates making plays than he does for his own. His ferocity on the offensive glass has gotten the Spurs out of sticky situations. His clutch deep shooting has saved games. His willingness to play every position on defense has given Spurs coach Mitch Johnson the flexibility to dial up the right lineups at the right times. San Antonio became the fourth team in NBA history to go from missing the playoffs to winning at least 60 games.
Johnson may not be the most prolific scorer off the bench in the league, but no sixth man was more instrumental to his team’s identity this season. It is rare that a bench player drives the culture of one of the league’s most dominant teams, but that’s exactly what made Johnson and the Spurs so distinct.