Billy Donovan is joining the Spurs as lead assistant coach under Mitch Johnson, adding a veteran NBA head coach to the staff. The move gives the Spurs an experienced voice after Donovan spent 11 seasons running an NBA bench.
His track record carries weight: Donovan owns 469 wins and 413 losses as an NBA head coach, a career that started in 2015. He spent five seasons with the Thunder and the past six seasons leading the Bulls.
Donovan’s NBA Record
Donovan’s resume is unusually broad for an assistant hire. Before reaching the NBA, he coached the University of Florida for 19 years, won SEC Coach of the Year three times and captured two national titles there, then moved into the league in 2015.
That background gives Mitch Johnson a staff addition with years of head-coaching decisions behind him, not just one system or one roster cycle. For a team that has now shifted Donovan into a lead assistant role, the fit is about experience at the top of the bench and a history of handling different team builds.
Magic Door Closes
The timing also matters because Donovan had been considered a frontrunner for the Magic’s head coach opening after stepping away from the Bulls job at the end of the 2025/26 season. That opening ultimately went to Sean Sweeney, a former Spurs top assistant.
Shams Charania reported the hire for via Twitter, and the result leaves Donovan in a different kind of role than the one he had been linked to after leaving the Bulls. He lands in the Spurs’ coaching room with a clear job: support Mitch Johnson with a veteran head coach’s perspective, while the broader coaching market moves on without him.
