Up and running
Johnson happy to be back after 15-day COVID layoff
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson’s assessment of his bout with the COVID-19 virus is the stuff of a surgeon general’s warning.
“I would say it sucked,” Johnson said.
Having returned to the court after a 15-day layoff because of the coronavirus and its aftereffects, Johnson is glad to report he is feeling better now.
“I am doing amazing,” Johnson said before Thursday’s game against Oklahoma City. “Couldn’t feel any better.”
That was not the case two weeks ago, when Johnson could not drag himself out of his hotel room bed in Charlotte.
The night of Feb. 14, Johnson scored 18 points with eight rebounds in 31 minutes of a 122-110 victory over the Hornets. Afterward, he became one of four players to test positive for COVID-19.
That sparked an immediate halt to the season for the Spurs, who quarantined as a team in Charlotte for five days before flying back to San Antonio.
For Johnson — a 21-year-old coach Gregg Popovich once likened to a “wild mustang” — it meant an even more arduous path through the NBA’S health and safety protocols.
“The first day was probably
the worst day,” Johnson said. “I felt a little weak, had a little headache. I stayed in bed all day.”
The Spurs returned to the floor after a 10-day break, completing their interrupted rodeo trip with a loss at the Thunder on Feb. 24.
Johnson remained out for another five days, at last returning for an 11-minute cameo in Tuesday’s 119-93 rout of New York.
Popovich called it “a little workout” for Johnson as he tries to regain conditioning after the long layoff.
Johnson scored nine points in limited action against the Knicks, making 4 of 6 shots.
Though Johnson said he felt no worse for the wear after Tuesday, he said he expected to be on a minutes restriction again Thursday as the Spurs capped their first-half schedule against OKC at the AT&T Center.
“I think I’ve got everything back,” Johnson said. “Now it’s just managing my load and making sure I don’t overuse my body after coming back for so long.”
Johnson was the first of the latest crop of Covid-stricken Spurs to get back to playing NBA games.
Second-year guard Quinndary
Weatherspoon was assigned to the G League bubble in Orlando, Fla., when deemed fit to work Tuesday.
Derrick White, Rudy Gay and Devin Vassell have cleared the health and safety protocols and were on the bench in street clothes Tuesday, but they will not play until the team gets back from the All-star break.
“It’s always a good feeling seeing your teammates back up healthy and happy,” guard Lonnie Walker IV said.
The Spurs certainly are glad to have Johnson on the mend. The 6-foot-5 forward has been a force in his second NBA season, averaging 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while starting in 27 of his 28 appearances.
For his effort, Johnson was named to the 2021 NBA Rising Stars roster this week.
Though the league will not host a Rising Stars game as part of this year’s pandemic-marred All-star festivities in Atlanta, Johnson said he appreciated the honor.
Johnson was one of 10 players selected by NBA assistant coaches to the United States roster of first- and second-year players, which also includes marquee names like New Orleans’ Zion Williamson, Memphis’ Ja Morant, Charlotte’s Lamelo Ball and Golden State’s James Wiseman.
“It’s amazing I’ve been able to make a list like that,” Johnson said. “There’s so many good names on it.”
Johnson said he was taken aback when the NBA announced the accolade.
“It felt surreal,” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘Dang. You sure?’ That was my first reaction.”
It wasn’t the first time in the past few weeks Johnson got some startling news.
As far as surprises go, Johnson’s selection to the Rising Stars roster was more pleasant than his COVID-19 diagnosis.
“We were definitely surprised,” Johnson said. “It just happens. We take so many protocols to avoid COVID, and to have so many players come up with it, it sucked.”
Johnson and the other infected players formed a sort of support group during their time in quarantine.
“We definitely stayed in touch,” Johnson said. “Everybody called and checked on me and made sure I was all good. We were in each other’s corner.”
Someday soon — perhaps by the time the Spurs return from the All-star break to face Dallas on March 10 — Johnson and the rest of the team’s COVID corps will be reunited on the court.
For now, Johnson will continue to sound his surgeon general’s warning about the coronavirus.
“I don’t think you guys would have to go through nothing like that,” Johnson said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”