NBA
#29 – Keldon Johnson – San Antonio Spurs
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the 29th overall pick in the NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select guard Keldon Johnson from the University of Kentucky.
Johnson wasn’t the most prolific Wildcat during his freshman season at Kentucky, but the guard put in some serious work on the offensive end of the floor. His numbers don’t exactly jump off the page — 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game — but the effort and energy were there. Under the watch of Greg Popovich, Johnson certainly has the potential to be a high-end contributor off the bench alongside the other guards in the Spurs’ backcourt.
Johnson wasn’t exactly fleet of foot; he had the tendency to fall asleep on defense and, when he was aware, his heavy feet had him a step too slow on some contests. Johnson may also struggle to create opportunities for himself as well, as he isn’t a superb athlete, and he won’t be able to brute force his way to the basket at the next level.
Still, Johnson should fit right in in San Antonio. He will have to continue to put in the work — some extra work, even — but, given his draft position, he should provide quality offense alongside DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge and the rest of the Spurs.
