SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs' Keldon Johnson didn't jump right into the NBA after being selected by the team in the first round in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The No. 29 overall pick went on to spend a portion of his rookie season with the Spurs' G League team, Austin Spurs, during the 2019-20 season.
He wore the Austin Spurs jersey for 31 games honing his skills before making the leap to San Antonio.
And he is grateful for every second in the G League.
"I think definitely 100 percent the G League turned my career around," said Johnson. "I feel like coming in [to the NBA] I was around 19 years old and it helped me develop. It helped me become a professional."
In 31 career games with Austin, Johnson recorded 20.3 points per game along with 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 53 percent shooting from the field in 30.2 minutes per game. He also recorded a G League career-high 32 points versus the Herd in 2019.
His G League stats screamed he had NBA-level talent and San Antonio recognized it.
The team and the league were dealing with the COVID pandemic that season, creating an opportunity for Johnson to get some NBA reps early in his career.
And it paid off tremendously.
"I feel like I had the talent to play in the NBA but it was other things I needed to correct to be able to be with the big team," Johnson said.
That time spent learning the San Antonio system helped propel him when he got a permanent seat on an NBA bench.
Since then, he has emerged as the team's go-to player which helped his NBA adjustment, and his NBA learning curve was shortened thanks to the time he spent in Austin.
He was named to the 2021 Rising Stars Roster in his sophomore season, is one of three Spurs in team history (Tim Duncan and David Robinson) to record multiple games with 25-plus points and 10-or-more rebounds in their first 50 career games, and recorded five games with 20-plus points, the most 20-point games by a Spur in his first 25 contests since Tim Duncan’s six games in 1997.
"I went down there [Austin], corrected the things I needed to correct. Did the things they told me I needed to do," Johnson added.
The Spurs historically covet the G League process. From Johnson, Danny Green, Derrick White, Boban Majranivic to Dejounte Murray and many others in between, the Austin Spurs experience is what is usually in store for Spurs rookies.
And although the Spurs are in a rebuild and have lessened the use of the Austin Spurs path, others are benefitting from the G League experience.
Zach Collins went to Austin last season as part of his rehabilitation, rookie guard Blake Wesley is with Austin to recover from his MCL injury, and Malakai Branham has played a few games with Austin as part of his NBA indoctrination.
The Austin Spurs process and what it means for player development is a huge reason it has Johnson's stamp of approval.
While in Mexico City, Austin took on Mexico City's G League team, the Capitanes, and the Spurs forward was in the audience cheering the team on.
"That's why I show so much support because I believe in the process of the G League and I tell my young guys that every day," he said.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5