NBA : Billy Donovan joins the Spurs bench in a surprise move
The Spurs are not just shopping on the court. San Antonio have also pulled off a major move on the sidelines by bringing in Billy Donovan. After 11 seasons running the Thunder and then the Bulls, the 61-year-old has agreed to become Mitch Johnson’s top assistant. It is a pretty unexpected call for a coach with that much experience, but it is also one that arrives at the right time for the latest NBA finalists.
Donovan had been available since his Chicago spell ended, and he had plenty of options. He could have waited for another head coach job to open up, or simply stepped away for a while. Instead, he has chosen a different path: joining an already developed project and working alongside Mitch Johnson, who is still relatively young in the job.
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A serious boost to help Mitch Johnson
In San Antonio, Billy Donovan is obviously not arriving to steal the spotlight. Mitch Johnson remains the man in charge after taking over from Gregg Popovich. Still, it is hard to imagine a better fit to support him on a daily basis. The Spurs’ new top assistant knows the grind of long NBA seasons, the playoffs and locker rooms packed with stars.
His record speaks for itself. Between 2015 and 2020, Donovan coached Oklahoma City, where he worked with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul. He then spent six seasons in Chicago. Before all that, he had been at Florida for nearly 20 years, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007 with, among others, French centre Joakim Noah.
To find Billy Donovan in an assistant role, you have to go a long way back. All the way to 1994, when he was still at Kentucky. More than 30 years on, he is back in that seat, but this time with a very different level of experience and clout.
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A new voice to push the Spurs attack on
The appeal of this move is not just the experience he brings to the staff. Billy Donovan has also built a reputation around his offensive ideas. Ball movement, spacing and a desire to play fast whenever the opening is there: on paper, there is plenty there to spark some interesting thinking around Victor Wembanyama and the rest of the Texas roster.
The Spurs come off a season that took them all the way to the NBA Finals, but it also exposed the limits of a group that is still young at this level. San Antonio have now added to their bench a man who has seen almost every situation the American game can throw at you, from NCAA runs to the most tense playoff battles.
His arrival also helps cover the loss of Sean Sweeney, the former defensive specialist on the staff who has taken over at Orlando. The profile is different, as is the brief. Alongside Mitch Johnson, Donovan should bring a sharp eye to offensive structure and the handling of big moments.
After a busy summer across the NBA, San Antonio are moving quietly. Billy Donovan won’t score a point or grab a rebound next season, but his arrival could still matter a great deal in the Spurs’ title push.
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