Spurs make major coaching move, add Hall of Famer to Mitch Johnson’s staff originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Mitch Johnson has his new right-hand man.
Following a 2025–26 season in which the Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals in Johnson’s first full season at the helm, San Antonio has hired Hall of Fame coach Billy Donovan as the lead assistant, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Billy Donovan has agreed to become the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and head coach Mitch Johnson, sources tell me and @PeteThamel. After 11 seasons as a head coach in Chicago and Oklahoma City, Donovan accepts the position with the Western Conference champions. pic.twitter.com/HdhjtsQG2K
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2026
The 60-year-old will replace Sean Sweeney as Johnson’s lead assistant after Sweeney left to be the next head coach of the Orlando Magic earlier in the offseason.
Donovan played college basketball at Providence College, where he played for Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. After a stint at the professional level, including a season in the NBA, his playing career came to an end. Following a brief and “miserable” time in investment banking, Donovan reached out to Pitino for guidance with an eye on coaching.
Donovan began his coaching career as an assistant at the collegiate level, reuniting with Pitino at Kentucky from 1989 to 1994 before becoming the head coach at Marshall, where he spent two seasons before taking over at Florida. In 19 seasons, he transformed the program into a national powerhouse, leading the Gators to six SEC regular season titles, four Final Four appearances, and a pair of national championships (2006 and 2007) while being named SEC Coach of the Year three times.
In 2015, Donovan moved to the NBA, replacing Scott Brooks as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his first season, the Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals before famously squandering a 3–1 series lead to the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder failed to advance past the first round in each of the next four seasons, and Donovan departed following the 2019–20 season. He was hired by the Chicago Bulls in September 2020 and led the team for six seasons before stepping down this April, finishing as the fourth-winningest coach in franchise history. Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.
Back-to-back @NCAA DI National Championships (’06 & ’07), 4x SEC Tournament Champion, and 3x SEC Coach of the Year, #25HoopClass inductee Billy Donovan. pic.twitter.com/rSSc75YlK2
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 5, 2025
Donovan now joins Johnson’s staff as one of the most accomplished coaches in the game, bringing more than three decades of experience as the Spurs look to continue their ascent next season.
