Spurs’ Mitch Johnson named coach for 2026 NBA All-Star Game

San Antonio–the spurs Sunday began in Charlotte, North Carolina, then was diverted to Atlanta due to equipment problems on the team’s charter plane.

But by the end of the night, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had reached a new milestone in his career. with my team win 112-103 Above orlando magicOn February 15, Johnson was named Western Conference All-Star head coach for the exhibition in Inglewood, California.

“It will be an honor and a humbling to be a part of All-Star Weekend with the best players in this league,” Johnson said. “The league always does a great job of putting on a great weekend. This is an example and reflection of the work these guys have done.”

detroitJB Bickerstaff will coach one of three All-Star teams under the new “US vs. the World” format. They earned this honor because the Pistons have the best record in the East. K Mark Daigneault oklahoma city thunder Cannot coach at the All-Star Game this year because he coached at the event last season.

Upon Daigneault’s disqualification, Johnson and Nuggets‘David Edelman was competing for respect. The Spurs’ win on Sunday improved their record to 33–16 and earned Johnson respect. The Nuggets lost to the Thunder, dropping Denver’s record to 33–17.

The NBA has not disclosed how the coach of the third All-Star team will be decided.

Johnson reached the milestone after a long day, which started at 6 a.m. ET in Charlotte, where the team spent the night in the snow after Saturday’s loss. Hornets. The Spurs were scheduled to fly home immediately after Saturday’s game, but 11 inches of snow was reported at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, grounding more than 1,000 flights and causing the NBA to delay the start of Sunday’s Magic-Spurs game from 3 p.m. CT to 6 p.m.

Once the weather cleared enough for the Spurs to fly to San Antonio, the pilot announced that the flight needed to divert to Atlanta due to a mechanical problem. Therefore, the NBA delayed the information by another two hours.

The Spurs landed at San Antonio International Airport about four and a half hours before tipoff.

“It was a little scary,” adds keldon johnson Said. “They came over the intercom and said the pressure in our cabin was losing. We had to make an emergency landing. Our pilot took care of us. After that, the mood lightened up and started joking. It was scary.”

Mitch Johnson, who is in his first full season coaching the Spurs, is the second All-Star Game head coach in franchise history and the first since Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich in 2016.

San Antonio’s 33–16 record is its best mark in 49 games since the 2016–17 season.

Johnson has helped the Spurs achieve the third-most wins (17) in the NBA. San Antonio has an offensive rating of 124.8 in clutch situations.

“I’m very happy for him,” said the Spurs big man and All-Star starter Victor WembanyamaWho had 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals on Sunday. “I don’t know how many [coaches] “Have done that in my first season or season and a half.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.