Although Johnson continues to provide serviceable numbers on the offensive end of the floor, it's fair to say that his role has diminished over the past 12 months and could continue to do so moving forward. He finished last season coming off the bench, impacting his ability to be a high-volume producer. He placed 141st in the rankings, averaging 15.7 points per game to go with 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 three-pointers. The ascension of Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell plus the addition of Harrison Barnes, Chris Paul and Stephon Castle make things more complicated for Johnson. Despite being only 24 years old, it does not appear as though he will be a priority piece moving forward. Given what we saw to close the season, he seems likely to assume a sixth-man role, playing somewhere in the vicinity of 25 minutes per night. If that is indeed the case, managers don't need to go out of their way to draft him. At best, Johnson could be considered for streaming purposes throughout the season, typically when those around him are sidelined due to injury or rest purposes. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a four-year, $74 million contract extension with the Spurs in July of 2022.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Johnson was born in Chesterfield, Virginia, to Chris and Rochelle Johnson in 1999. He has two brothers, Kaleb and Kyle, and one sister, Kristyn. Kaleb played college football at Rutgers and later competed in the American Football League. Keldon attended Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia. He later transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. There he starred on the basketball court, averaging 20.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals as a senior. Johnson was subsequently named the Virginia Gatorade High School Player of the Year. In addition, he was selected to the USA Today All-USA Second Team. He was also named to both the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic Game. During the summer of 2017, Johnson played for the United States Men's National Under-19 basketball team. Learn more about Johnson by following him on Twitter and Instagram (@keldonjohnson). Johnson played for the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2018-19 season and was named the Southeast Conference Rookie of the Year during that season. He also was placed on the 18-19 All-SEC Second Team, as well as the 18-19 SEC All-Freshman Team. The South Hill, Virginia native helped lead the Wildcats to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. He ranked second among the Wildcats in defensive rebounds (168), defensive rebounds per game (4.5), three-pointers (45), three-point attempts (118), three-pointers per game (1.2), three-point attempts per game (3.2), free throws (109) and free-throw attempts (155). Johnson entered the 2019 NBA Draft after his freshman season at Kentucky and was drafted in the first round (29th overall) by the San Antonio Spurs.
Logs 13 points in reserve role
FSan Antonio Spurs
November 1, 2024
Johnson provided 13 points (3-10 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 6-7 FT), four rebounds and one steal over 28 minutes during Thursday's 106-88 win over Utah.
ANALYSIS Johnson appears set to play a sixth-man role for the Spurs this season, although he could see some spot starts, depending on the matchup. The Kentucky product experienced a huge dip in production during his fifth season with the Spurs, starting only 27 of 69 games after being a consistent first-unit player for most of his career. He'll still garner enough minutes to be viable in fantasy formats, but it's best to keep expectations in check.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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Advanced Stats
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2023
2022
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2019
Stat Review
How does Keldon Johnson compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
50.0%
Effective Field Goal %
45.7%
3-Point Attempt Rate
43.5%
Free Throw Rate
23.2%
Offensive Rebound %
4.7%
Defensive Rebound %
17.7%
Total Rebound %
11.5%
Assist %
3.8%
Steal %
1.6%
Block %
0.0%
Turnover %
8.0%
Usage %
21.5%
Fantasy Points Per Game
22.7
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.8
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Total
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NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Spurs Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Keldon Johnson was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Despite averaging a career-high 22.0 points per game, Johnson's overall fantasy rank actually fell from 106 to 165 when compared to the 2021-22 season. While his scoring increased, his efficiency dropped, as did his rebounds and defensive production. The Spurs had very little to play for last season, other than trying to get the number one pick in the 2023 draft. With that wish coming to fruition, the team will now be building around Victor Wembanyama, shifting the focus off of Johnson. While this does mean his efficiency could increase, his opportunities to do other things are going to decrease. Coupled with the improvements of players like Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham, there is a chance Johnson will go undrafted in a few leagues. With that said, he should still be a relatively strong source of points and triples, typically enough to provide 12-team appeal. If we think of him in the same vein as someone like Harrison Barnes or RJ Barrett, we have a player who can be rostered in certain builds but with more appeal in points formats.
The Spurs undertook the first stage of a rebuild last season after losing DeMar DeRozan to the Bulls. Dejounte Murray was the clear leader of the team, but Johnson also proved to be one of his top running mates. He stepped up his production, averaging 17.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 three-pointers across 32 minutes per game. While his 21.3 percent usage rate was the highest of his career, it was still a fairly modest mark. The main reason for his spike in points per game was that he shot 39.8 percent from behind the arc on 5.3 attempts per game. The season prior, he shot 33.1 percent on 2.6 attempts per game. This offseason saw Murray get dealt to the Hawks, further thrusting the Spurs into their rebuild. They have not added any significant veterans, so Johnson has a chance to lead the team in usage rate. If he can maintain his efficiency from behind the arc with an increased workload, he could become extremely valuable. There is some risk that comes with drafting him, though, as the Spurs could be one of the teams that sit some of their better players down the stretch of the season to improve their chances of obtaining the top pick in the 2023 Draft.
After an encouraging end to his rookie campaign in 2019-20, Johnson took another step forward last season, putting up 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. With the Spurs finally poised to enter a rebuild, Johnson will likely be entrusted with a larger workload this season -- particularly after Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan departed in free agency. He'll still have to compete with new arrivals Thaddeus Young and Doug McDermott, but Johnson will have the inside track to a starting frontcourt spot. If things break right, Johnson could push for top-75 value, though for that to happen he'll need to improve his free throw shooting and defensive numbers.
As a late first-round selection, Johnson didn't find immediate NBA playing time. Instead, he spent most of the season with the Austin Spurs of the G-League. The Kentucky product found success in the G-League, averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 boards, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals across his 31 appearances. Though Johnson didn't get much NBA playing time in his first season, he played well when on the court, particularly at the end of the year. Johnson appeared in all eight of the Spurs' bubble games and averaged 14.1 points, 5.0 boards, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals while stroking 1.4 threes across 26.1 minutes per contest. He was particularly effective as a scorer, notching three games of at least 20 points, including back-to-back 24-point showings in the final two games. Johnson has shown his offensive chops and proven that he can be a quality scoring option, though he'll have a tough time finding minutes on the wing in this offense. He'll compete with the likes of Derrick White, DeMar DeRozan, Lonnie Walker, Rudy Gay and rookie Devin Vassell.
A freshman out of Kentucky, Johnson was selected by the Spurs with the 29th overall pick in the 2019 Draft. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward started 36 of 37 appearances, averaging 13.5 points (46.1 FG%, 38.1 3P%, 70.3 FT%), 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists across 30.7 minutes. Those numbers helped him secure both the SEC Freshman of the Year award, as well as making the Second Team All-SEC (Coaches). During summer league, Johnson played in five games, averaging 12.2 points on 9.2 shots, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 22.2 minutes. It seems unlikely he'll garner many minutes in the NBA as a rookie, as the Spurs have no shortage of wing players. Chances are, Johnson will head down to the G League for a significant portion of the season to get some on-court experience.
More Fantasy News
Scores 16 points off bench
FSan Antonio Spurs
October 27, 2024
Johnson produced 16 points (5-11 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-6 FT), eight rebounds and one steal over 29 minutes during Saturday's 109-106 win over the Rockets.
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Struggles off bench
FSan Antonio Spurs
October 25, 2024
Johnson ended with seven points (3-9 FG, 1-3 3Pt), four rebounds and two assists over 25 minutes during Thursday's 120-109 loss to the Mavericks.
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Not on injury report
FSan Antonio Spurs
October 23, 2024
Johnson (rest) isn't listed on the injury report for Thursday's regular-season opener against the Mavericks.
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Solid showing off bench
FSan Antonio Spurs
October 16, 2024
Johnson scored 15 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT) while adding five rebounds, an assist and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench during Tuesday's 120-117 preseason loss to the Heat.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Slimming down
FSan Antonio Spurs
October 1, 2024
Johnson expressed that he's moving better and "more explosive" than last season, although he refrained from revealing a specific weight-change figure, per Josh Paredes of Fansided. Johnson missed the final four contests last season while dealing with a foot sprain -- although he still appeared in 69 total games.
ANALYSIS Johnson regressed from 61.3 percent shooting at the rim in 2022-23 to 57.4 percent in 2023-24, so it will be interesting to monitor if his proclaimed explosiveness will lead to a bump in efficiency driving downhill. Johnson, Jeremy Sochan and Harrison Barnes all represent combo-forward options in San Antonio's rotation, making a strong start to the season beneficial. Johnson averaged 28.4 minutes per game across 18 contests following the All-Star break last year.