The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. They have been playoff stalwarts for more than 20 years, almost all of them with 50 wins or more. However, the Spurs are now going through a rebuilding process. It was known that the era of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili will come to a close at one point, and it is up to the Spurs to find new carries of the franchise for the future.

Now, it seems like the Spurs have chosen Dejounte Murray as the focal point of their rebuild. The guard who was drafted in 2016 is the first option on offense, now that DeMar DeRozan is gone, and it will be up to him to have a big season. However, even with that, the Spurs will need a couple of more seasons and more young players to fully rebuild.

One of these players, that might speed the rebuild up with a big season, is Keldon Johnson. Johnson was featured in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics US squad under his Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Now, he is poised to have a great season, one that could shock many people.

Johnson has been a surprise addition to the Team USA in the summer, but he did not disappoint. In the pre-tournament games, he had more time to play and impressed his coach and teammates. Of course, due to the sheer talent on the roster, he did not have much time to play in Tokyo, but he was still there, which shows how much Popovich and his staff trusted him. There are only 12 players in the international roster and to make it there, especially in the US, is an honor for every player.

In terms of the Spurs, Johnson had a fairly quiet first season. He was featured in only 17 games, started none, and played just 17.1 minutes. However, in the second season, he played 69 and started 67 out of these games. That, along with the call-up to the national roster, shows tons of trust in his potential. Popovich is not known as a developmental coach, since we have never seen him in that type of role, which makes the opportunity given to Johnson, who was chosen with the 29th selection, that more valuable.

Of course, more playing time meant better numbers for Johnson. He jumped from 9.1 to 12.8 points per game, although his efficiency took a small dip. That is absolutely normal since he was taking double the amount of shots on average in the second season in San Antonio. The Spurs also cleared up the forward's spots, so he will have an even bigger opportunity.

Rudy Gay left the squad in the summer, so it is now up to Johnson to take his role as a wing scorer. His competition for minutes comes mostly from Al-Farouq Aminu, a new addition to the squad, but he will play limited minutes since the aim of the season is to develop young guys. Additionally, the other forward brought in this summer is Thaddeus Young, who is mostly going to play the power forward position, not the small forward position that is the preferred spot for Johnson.

Some minutes will be given to Luka Samanic as well, of course, alongside Doug McDermott and possibly someone like Bryn Forbes or Derrick White, should the Spurs decide to go small. However, the majority of minutes will go to Johnson, and he is poised to have a great year.

All of the experiences with Gregg Popovich, his development of Parker and Ginobili specifically, show us that he is capable of getting the best out of players. In previous drafts, even if taken in the latter parts of the second round, Spurs picks were always hailed by analysts, since we all assume that the Spurs would not be wasting picks on players Popovich does not see something in. Johnson was overlooked and came to the perfect franchise, where Popovich seems to get the best out of him.

Now, after a breakthrough season and a summer trip to Tokyo, Johnson can position himself as one of the future leaders of this storied franchise. He will get tons of opportunities, minutes, and freedom in the offense, so it is up to him to take them. According to everything that was seen, all the work he puts in to get where he is, Johnson will be jumping at every extra minute on the floor.

It seems like the stars aligned for a prospect like this. There are a ton of minutes, the Spurs are in need of some young blood and there is no immediate pressure for success. This is Johnsons' season and he will be claiming it, that is for certain.