Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Thursday that Billy Donovan will become the San Antonio Spurs’ lead assistant coach under head coach Mitch Johnson, with the reporting credited to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Pete Thamel.
- Donovan publicly stepped down as the Chicago Bulls’ head coach on April 21, saying he left to allow new leadership to build out the staff.
- He arrives after 11 NBA seasons as a head coach, including five years with the Oklahoma City Thunder when he went to the playoffs each season and six years with the Bulls; published records note a combined Thunder mark of about 243–157 and a Chicago mark of about 226–256.
- San Antonio reached the 2026 NBA Finals but lost to the New York Knicks, and coverage frames Donovan’s hiring as a move to add experience after questions about coaching in that series and to support players such as Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
- Donovan is widely known for his dominant college run at Florida, where he won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007, and his arrival could change how the Spurs plan game strategy and player development during the coming season.