San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson’s dominant February run earns him well-deserved Coach of the Month honor

The NBA's Coaches of the Month for February are head coaches Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs and Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite only playing three games in San Antonio during the month, Johnson guided the Spurs to a flawless 11-0 record. After winning the award twice the previous season, Atkinson has now won Coach of the Month three times in his career, all with the Cavaliers.

He joined Mike Brown and the late Lenny Wilkens as the only three coaches in franchise history to win coach of the month three or more times. After leading the Spurs to a league-best 11-3 record, which included a trip to the NBA Cup Championship Game and a 6-1 road record, Johnson was also named West Coach of the Month in December.

Kenny Atkinson leads Cavaliers to strong 8-3 February to earn East Coach of the Month

The NBA announced today that head coach Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in February 2026.

Cody Taylor:

“San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February…”

With James Harden joining the team, Atkinson guided the Cavaliers to an 8-3 record. The Cavaliers tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference in February with an 8-3 record under Atkinson's leadership. From February 1–20, the Cavaliers won seven straight games, including five straight away. This was a season-high run.






Cleveland's defense ranked fourth in the league in opponent three-point percentage and sixth in opponent field goal percentage, and it held opponents under 100 points three times. In February, the Cavaliers also recorded three of their four lowest opponent scoring totals this season, holding the Clippers to 91 points on February 4, Brooklyn to a season-low 84 points on February 19, and New York to 94 points on February 24.

In February, the Cavaliers ranked third in assists per game, fourth in three-point percentage, fourth in steals per game, and led the East in points per game and field goal percentage thanks to the reigning NBA Coach of the Year. Cleveland has three games with at least 130 points and four games with at least 120 points. The Cavaliers also outscored their rivals by 10.9 points over the course of the month.

Mitch Johnson earns West Coach of the Month after Spurs’ perfect 11-0 February run

Johnson was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for February by the NBA on Tuesday. After leading the Spurs to a league-best 11-0 record and their longest winning run since winning 13 straight in 2015–16, he was named Coach of the Month for the second time in his career.

On February 23, the Spurs defeated the East-leading Pistons 114-103 in Detroit, their largest victory of the month. Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff commended the Spurs prior to the game for choosing Johnson, 39, to replace Gregg Popovich, who retired from coaching in May.

Regarding Johnson, who took over as the Spurs' interim coach last season after Popovich had a stroke five games into the season, Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff stated:

"He's an extremely talented coach, great dude, great communicator, great leader..”

When the Spurs return from the Rodeo Road Trip on Thursday to play the Detroit Pistons, they will have a number of plaques to present. Dylan Harper, who won Western Conference Rookie of the Month, and Victor Wembanyama, who won Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month and Western Conference Player of the Month overall, are among Johnson's monthly honorees.




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