For the first time in 27 years, the San Antonio Spurs are preparing to enter the season without Gregg Popovich as their head coach. Amassing the most wins (1,390) for a head coach in NBA history, he not only was the franchise’s commander-in-chief but their culture-setter. To be clear, Popovich’s paternal instincts have led to his continued mentorship of contemporary Spurs figures. In this way, he’s retained his status as the organization’s patriarch.
Nevertheless, Popovich’s stroke wasn’t only career-altering for him. As they prepare for their 2025-26 campaign, San Antonio is doing so with Mitch Johnson as their pilot. Named the team’s interim head coach in November, Johnson quickly established himself as the septuagenarian’s heir apparent.
Spurs Add Rashard Lewis To Coaching Staff
With the interim tag now stripped from his title, Johnson is setting out to restructure the rest of the coaching staff.
On Monday, the Spurs officially announced that highly-touted former Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney will become the team’s associate head coach. Corliss Williamson, the 2001-02 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, is leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves and coming to San Antonio as an assistant. In line with their reputation for internal hires, former Austin Spurs (G League) head coach Scott King will also be made an assistant coach. In that same vein, shooting coach Jimmy Baron and head video coordinator Josh Brannon have been promoted to player development assistant coaches.
Player development analyst Madison Clower is another person who has been climbing up the Spurs ladder. In contrast, coaching analyst Andrew Weatherman was the coaching analytics coordinator for the New York Knicks in 2024-25. Thus, similar to Sweeney, Weatherman is changing locations to climb the ladder.
Respectfully, arguably none of these additions are exciting as that of former NBA standout Rashard Lewis.
The Last Word on Rashard Lewis
After serving as a guest coach for the Spurs during Summer League, Lewis now joins the player development staff. This isn’t Lewis’s first time coaching in an official capacity. In 2022-23, he was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.
With that being said, Lewis’s tutelage will be useful in a general sense. However, he’ll be particularly important to 2025 No. 14 pick Carter Bryant.
Carter Bryant Tutor
In Lewis’s hayday, he was an effective volume scorer and trailblazing stretch-forward. His skillset aside, he spent nearly two decades in the NBA and was successful. He was able to last 16 seasons in the world’s top basketball league, he had 913 career starts (playoffs included). He was a top-20 scorer in 2004-05, his first All-Star season. On top of that, he ranks first in Seattle SuperSonics history in career 3s (973).
Had the Spurs selected Ace Bailey rather than Dylan Harper with the second pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the importance of Lewis’s addition would’ve been that much more clear.
Nevertheless, the knowledge he can impart on Bryant could prove just as valuable. Even more than Bailey, Bryant is in the Kawhi Leonard mold of a defensive stud who can evolve offensively. Early in his career though, Bryant will be playing off of others far more than he makes plays for them. Essentially, he’ll be utilized as a stretch-forward, similar to Lewis.
Point A to Point B
Lewis went from a McDonald’s All-American, to a second-round NBA draft pick, to one of the league’s most recognizable players. He went from averaging 2.4 points per game as a rookie, to 8.2 points per game the following season, to 17.5 points per game in his years as a full-time starter (2000-01 to 2010-11). From that perspective, he won’t just teach players how to be better shooters; the roster’s most glaring weakness.
He can show them how to get their careers from Point A to Point B.
