Bench power: Keldon Johnson is the NBA's best sixth player

San Antonio basketball player Keldon Johnson has been named the NBA's Sixth Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season.

The Sixth Man of the Year award, named after legendary Boston basketball player John Havlicek, is given to the best player who predominantly starts games as a reserve, and its winner is voted for by a global panel of 100 journalists.

Johnson received 63 of the 100 first-place votes and a total of 404 points. Second in the voting was Miami wing Jaime Hakes Jr. with 34 first-place votes and 331 points, while the remaining finalist was Denver guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who received 45 points, with no first-place votes.

Of the remaining three votes for first place, Minnesota forward Naz Reed, Detroit center Isaiah Stewart, and New York basketball player Mitchell Robinson each received one vote.

Johnson started all 82 regular season games off the bench, becoming only the second player in the last decade to do so. He averaged 23,3 minutes per game and recorded 13,2 points, 5,4 rebounds and 1,4 assists per game for the Spurs, who finished second in the Western Conference with a 62-20 record.

He became the first player in Spurs history to score over 1.000 points as a reserve in a single season, as well as only the second San Antonio player to win this accolade, after Manu Ginobili.

"I've been in the starting lineup for a long time. Now it's my turn to come off the bench. I just keep analyzing the game, coming off the bench and doing my thing. I wanted to be a part of something special here in San Antonio. I knew coming off the bench was probably my best option, to really be the best for our team. It was tough at first. I had to control my ego and put the team first. After that, the sky was the limit," Johnson said.

This is the second individual award a San Antonio player has won this season, after Victor Wembanyama was unanimously named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.

Among the awards whose winners have yet to be announced is the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.