As the Seattle Seahawks prepare to defend their Super Bowl title, another coaching staff looking to claim a championship is in town to get some advice during training camp. Mitch Johnson and members of the San Antonio Spurs’ front-office staff dropped in on Seahawks’ training camp, as a teaser for Tuesday’s episode of “Hard Knocks” revealed.
In the clip, Johnson and Macdonald talked about messaging and motivation tactics at the start of the season. Macdonald talked about the difficulty of trying to impart the same message to a team that just won it all.
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He added that he views the early days of training camp as “install days,” meaning the team is working on both finding its playing style and establishing its culture. Johnson liked that idea, and immediately took out his phone, possibly to take notes.
The conversation then turned to Victor Wembanyama, who Johnson said “wants to be the best player ever.”
Both Johnson and Spurs general manager Brian Wright revealed just how the team decided to go after Wembanyama. Wright revealed that the Spurs CEO saw a 16-year-old Wembanyama working in a gym and was so impressed that the team started positioning itself so it could have a shot at Wembanyama when he was available in the draft.
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A few years later, it all worked out. Wembanyama went to the Spurs after the team secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That’s proven to be a fantastic decision, as Wembanyama has already emerged as one of the best players in the league. Thanks to his efforts, the Spurs reached the NBA Finals last season, where the team lost to the New York Knicks in five games.
It didn’t come across in the clip, but Macdonald is actually not that familiar with Wembanyama and his game. The coach admitted as much on the Seahawks’ website, calling himself an “idiot right now when it comes to other sports.”
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Johnson, on the other hand, has a decent grasp on the Seahawks. That’s not necessarily a surprise considering Johnson grew up in Seattle. Presumably, he’s a Seahawks fan.
While the clip didn’t provide the most illuminating conversation, it’s fascinating to see two coaches on the other side of a championship experience talk strategy. Johnson is still trying to motivate his team to win a title. Macdonald has already accomplished that goal, and is showing it doesn’t make the job any easier going forward.
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