Avery Johnson​

Initially, Avery Johnson won the hearts of Spurs fans with his work ethic and his upbeat personality.  Johnson, nicknamed “the Little General,’’ later won additional acclaim as a reliable starting point guard, as a floor leader and as a player who hit the winning shot to clinch the 1999 NBA championship. All told, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound lefthander played 16 seasons in the NBA, including 10 of them in San Antonio with the Spurs.

Johnson grew up in New Orleans and played in college for Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. Twice he led the NCAA in assists for Southern and his record still stands. After college, he played summer ball with the minor-league Palm Beach Stingrays before winning his first NBA roster spot as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Supersonics. Johnson moved from team to team in the first six seasons of his NBA career. Twice, he played for the Spurs, and twice he left town without a long-term contract. Signed by Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich in 1994, he finally found a home. Johnson would become the team’s starter for the next seven seasons. Popovich, his mentor, took over the team’s head coaching duties in December 1996.​

Eventually Johnson would make his mark as one of the team’s steadiest performers.  He ranks first on the Spurs’ all-time assists list with 4,474. He also is fifth in games played (644), fifth in steals (712) and eighth in scoring (6,486). In 1999, Johnson enjoyed the highlight moment of his career. He hit an 18-foot jumper out of the corner at Madison Square Garden to beat the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The shot clinched the Spurs’ first NBA championship. Johnson’s Spurs career came to an end in the summer of 2001 when he signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets. He retired as a player before the 2004-05 season to go into coaching with the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs retired Johnson’s jersey in December 2007.  His No. 6 hangs in the AT&T Center rafters alongside those of James Silas (13), George Gervin (44), Johnny Moore (00), David Robinson (50) and Sean Elliott (32).​