Spurs' Keldon Johnson: 'Easier' to Score with Victor Wembanyama?

Keldon Johnson is expected to play a key role for the San Antonio Spurs this season, even with Victor Wembanyama in the fold.

Matt Guzman | Sep 3, 2023

Spurs' Keldon Johnson: 'Easier' to Score with Victor Wembanyama? /

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are just weeks away from getting back into the groove and training for the season.

This year should look a lot different for Keldon Johnson, the Spurs’ best player for the past two seasons. However, with Victor Wembanyama in town, his role is bound to be different.

Despite the added responsibility that comes with that, Johnson has proven to be extremely adaptable and a great leader. On the court, he has the ability to score at will while also keeping his teammates involved — something that will continue to set him apart from his other teammates.

In Bleacher Report's annual ranking of the NBA's Top-100 players, considerations included a mixture of previous on-court performance, potential ceiling and even expected impact ahead of the 2023-24 season.

"B/R asked its best basketball minds to answer a series of random Player A vs. Player B debates," the site wrote. "The question for each debate [was]: Which player will rank higher by the end of the 2023-24 season?"

After compiling over 8,000 votes, results were synthesized and averaged, creating the final list of players — including a short list of honorable mentions.

Now, healthier than ever, Johnson clocked in at No. 73 in Bleacher Report's top 100 player rankings.

“[Johnson] shot 38.5 percent from three over his first three seasons, and it feels like there may be some untapped playmaking potential,” Bleacher Report wrote. “Ideally, Wembanyama will divert some defensive attention away from him this season, which would make both scoring and creating a bit easier for him.”

Bleacher Report's latter point is going to be key this season. All eyes are likely to be on Wembanyama, meaning that Johnson can quickly remind defenses why they can’t focus solely on the 7-4 French phenom. And even after opposing teams recognize that, his scoring ability is still going to make them pay.

Published Sep 3, 2023

MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.