Johnson, meanwhile, joined the organization in 2016 as an assistant for San Antonio's G League affiliate team, the Austin Spurs, and was promoted in 2019 as an assistant on Popovich's bench. Although the dynamic of the relationship has changed somewhat due to their current roles, Johnson said the core of their bond remains unchanged. "The relationship has stayed the same in terms of feedback, discussion, challenging each other, me asking him a lot of questions, him giving me a lot of wisdom," Johnson said. "He's a pretty good resource for what I've been walking through since October and up until now. I cannot have created a better rhythm or build-out of him being a constant resource for me, but then also totally giving me the freedom and runway to try to roll this thing out in my own reflection as myself. That's pretty valuable.
"To be honest, I don't know if anyone's ever had that opportunity that I've had this year. I don't take that for granted. It's not lost on me the impact he's had, while also empowering me to be myself. He, R.C., the whole family, people that have been in our organization for a long time, have really set an environment of how one operates and interacts with each other in our building and within our program. It allows people to hopefully feel valued and be themselves while also understanding how competitive and how hard we have to work to be where we want to be."
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