Up-and-down season ends early for Keldon Johnson

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Keldon Johnson hobbled off the court at the Frost Bank Center on Sunday and, most likely, directly into the offseason.

The fifth-year forward reaggravated his sprained left foot in a double-overtime loss to Philadelphia, an injury the Spurs believe will keep Johnson shelved for the final four games of the season.

“It’s tough for him,” forward Julian Champagnie said. “Lucky for him, the season’s coming to an end. It’s winding down so he’ll have to whole  offseason to do his rehab, get better and be ready for next season.”

The foot malady put a premature end to an up-and-down season for Johnson, who began to find a groove coming off the bench after initially struggling with the move.

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The Spurs’ leading scorer last season at 22 points per game, Johnson saw his role shift in January when coach Gregg Popovich moved him from the starting lineup and made him the team’s sixth man.

Johnson averaged 16.9 points as a starter, a number that dipped slightly to 15 points in the 42 games he logged as a reserve.

Popovich praised Johnson, the team’s longest tenured player, for the sacrifice he made as a bench player.

“He showed a lot of leadership in that regard,” Popovich said. “He’s had injuries that have bugged him off and on, here and there, but overall he matured a lot this season.”

Johnson was one of six Spurs players listed as out for Tuesday’s game at Memphis.

Not to be outdone, the Grizzlies ruled out a whopping 11 players.  They needed a hardship exemption from the league to sign G League wings  Zavier Simpson and Jack White to 10-day contracts in order to meet the minimum eight healthy players required to play.

The Spurs play again Wednesday at Oklahoma City, with Johnson expected to be unavailable for that game as well.

Champagnie said the Spurs will miss Johnson down the stretch for reasons that go beyond his on-court contributions.

“He is the heart and soul of this team,” Champagnie said. “He brings a lot of energy regardless if he’s scoring or not. His presence is definitely felt on both ends of the floor, so losing him definitely hurts.”

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Johnson, 23, still has three seasons remaining on the $80-million contract extension he signed in the summer of 2022.

His upbeat leadership was vital for a team in which the losses far outpaced the victories for the fifth season in a row.

“I feel like you really find out who you are when you lead through the good and bad times,” Johnson said. “If you are just leading through the good times, you are a front-runner.”

Johnson said at the time he was optimistic about the future of the Spurs with Victor Wembanyama as the centerpiece and is eager to be a part of it.

“Tough times don’t last,” he said. “Just because we’ve got a rough patch now doesn’t mean we’re going to have a rough patch in the future. I’m very confident in my team, my coaches and all of our support system.”

Popovich joins autism awareness drive

Popovich and other coaches across the league last week wore custom Nike Air Force 1 shoes for a pair of games as part of an NBA-wide initiative to raise awareness for autism.

The campaign was the brainchild of Utah Jazz assistant Scott Morrison, whose son was diagnosed with autism two years ago.

The shoes, customized with each team’s colors and emblazoned with an infinity rainbow insignia, were set to be autographed and put up for auction following the weeklong event.

According to the Massachusetts General Hospital, one in 36 kids is affected by the spectrum disorder.

“It’s a malady that I think is misunderstood in some ways,” Popovich said. “It’s like it’s a bad thing or that person is ‘the other.’ That person is just different and really deserves our attention, our support and a realization they have other traits that make them special. They can’t be put aside as others. They need to be included and supported.”

Popovich praises ‘genuine’ Jones

Popovich applauded the NBA selecting point guard Tre Jones as one of the six finalists for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

"He’s a real genuine individual who cares a lot about not just basketball but the world, what goes on," Popovich said. "He knows he’s part of a community and he just exudes class in that way, so it’s kind of neat that he is recognized."

The league created the honor ahead of the 1995-96 season to “recognize the player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”

The NBA announced earlier this week Jones was selected as the finalist from the Southwest Division along with Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey (Atlantic Division), Cleveland's Jarrett Allen (Central), Miami's Kevin Love (Southeast), Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Northwest) and Sacramento's Harrison Barnes (Pacific).

Current NBA players will select the winner from that group.

Nike teases Wemby's new alien logo during eclipse

As the moon shrouded the sun Monday afternoon, Nike unveiled what appears to be the logo for Wembanyama’s forthcoming signature line of shoes and apparel. 

The teaser video released across Nike’s social media accounts opens with a sweeping close-up shot of a computer-generated field "somewhere in South Texas" before zooming out to reveal a vast crop circle featuring an alien head bordered by geometric patterns and two swoosh logos. "The total eclipse has just begun," the accompanying caption reads.

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The crop circle design is an apparent nod to Wembanyama's nickname – the “Alien” – and Nike decided to offer a sneak peek during Monday's solar eclipse as thousands flocked to Texas to get within the path of totality. The marquee athletic brand will reportedly release the 20-year-old Spurs star's first signature shoe in May, and those cosmic-inspired kicks will feature a pair of extraterrestrial faces on the heel and insole. 

“It’s great because it is a new experience both for them and I," Wembanyama said in February of developing his signature logo and first retail sneakers with Nike. "We are all learning in this because it is really the first time in my life I have been asked anything about shoes really because I have had no choice most of my life. So, this is great. But I am still learning a lot about my own feet and my own body.”

Staff writers Tom Orsborn and Nick Moyle contributed to this report