Spurs’ Keldon Johnson named NBA Sixth Man of Year

Make it two major awards for the Spurs in three days.

After Victor Wembanyama took home Defensive Player of the Year, guard Keldon Johnson has been named Sixth Man of the Year, the league announced.

Johnson embraced the role from start to finish. He came off the bench in all 82 games for a 62-win Spurs team, averaging 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.3 minutes while shooting .519 from the field and .363 from three.

He also made a bit of franchise history along the way.

Johnson scored 1,081 points off the bench, setting a single-season Spurs record and passing Manu Ginobili, the only other player in team history to win the award. He was also the only player in the league this season to appear in all 82 games without making a single start.

The voting reflected that consistency.

Johnson received 63 first-place votes and appeared on 96 of 100 ballots, finishing with 404 total points. Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Heat placed second with 331 points and 34 first-place votes, while Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Nuggets finished third.

Jaquez put together a strong case of his own, averaging 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 75 games, mostly in a reserve role.

There was a wrinkle in the process.

Because the league needed extra time to sort through award eligibility appeals tied to the 65-game rule, ballots didn’t go out until late in the week.

That came after Miami’s play-in loss, when Jaquez struggled in a 5-of-14 shooting performance. At least one voter, Bill Simmons of The Ringer, said he changed his vote from Jaquez to Johnson despite the award being based on the regular season.

Beyond the finalists, Naz Reid and Ajay Mitchell rounded out the top five, while Reed Sheppard was the only other player to appear on more than three ballots.

A handful of others also received votes, including Isaiah Stewart, Mitchell Robinson, Ayo Dosunmu, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Dylan Harper and Jamal Shead.