The San Antonio Spurs posted a video of the moment veteran forward Keldon Johnson learned he won the Kia NBA 2025-26 Sixth Man of the Year award on Wednesday. In the video, Johnson held his head in his hands while he cried.
Johnson’s emotional reaction makes sense on its face. After seven years with the Spurs, he was finally recognized by the league. He joined Hall of Famer Manu Ginóbili as the only Spurs to win the award.
But Johnson’s emotions ran from a deeper well.
“I was telling my teammates this, and I’ll share a little bit with y’all, but this has been one of the toughest years of my life,” Johnson told reporters. “My granddad has been fighting cancer, so my parents have been in and out. They haven’t really been here as much, and I’m really tight with my parents. Those are my best friends. So, not really having them here and going through the season, it’s been tough.”
Johnson added, “I feel like when I talk about my tough year, it’s a testament to the Spurs because I feel like I have so much family here. Knowing what I have going on, on the days that I didn’t have it, I was able to come here, and my teammates picked me up.”
Johnson credited the entire Spurs organization, down to the medical team and video room staff, for creating a supportive environment that allowed him to thrive.
Johnson expressed a similar sentiment while appearing on “Inside the NBA” to explain why he went from regularly starting for the Spurs earlier in his career to not having a single start over the past two seasons.
“Honestly, it just came down to wanting to be part of something special here in San Antonio,” Johnson said, later adding, “At first, it was tough. I had to really ruin my ego and put the team first. After that, the sky was the limit.”
Despite not starting, Johnson was a constant for the 62-20 Spurs this season. He appeared in all 82 regular-season games, averaging 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 23.3 minutes per game.
Spurs supernova center Victor Wembanyama became the first-ever unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year earlier this week.
Everyone is holding their breath after Wembanyama suffered a concussion in a 106-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night. But if Wembanyama can return, the sky is the limit for the Spurs this postseason.
The Blazers and Spurs are even at 1-1 entering Game 3 on Friday night.
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