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To many of the younger Johnson’s childhood friends from Seattle, he was never called Mitch. He was and still is “Maestro.” That nickname was bestowed on Johnson in middle school by his father, homage to the kid’s uncanny ability to control a basketball game like a symphony. Years later, the moniker followed Johnson to college at Stanford. “He was our conductor,” said Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez, who starred with his twin brother Robin on Stanford teams from 2006 to 2008. “He was leading us out there.”
Stanford star guard Ebuka Okorie will enter the NBA draft after leading the ACC in scoring as a freshman. Okorie developed from an under-the-radar recruit out of New Hampshire into one of the top freshmen in the country in his one season with the Cardinal under coach Kyle Smith. Okorie thanked Smith and the coaching staff on Thursday in his announcement on social media to enter the draft.
The former Cal and Stanford standout, Andrej Stojakovic says his dad has never focused on outside noise. “He’s someone who just enjoys watching basketball and all he cares about is myself and the rest of the guys on the team finding enjoyment from playing,” he said. “He doesn’t care that we made the Final Four. It’s not about that. It’s about the hard work we put in finally paying off. And the idea of us loving the game as a showing right now.” While suiting up for the Illini, he tries to strike a balance between using and valuing the insight his father can offer, while knowing he is his own player – and not just a replica of his dad on or off the court. “It’s been great taking advice from him throughout my playing career, not just about basketball but about life in general,” Stojakovic said.
Michael Scotto: Sacramento Kings G League general manager Gabriel Harris will be named University of Memphis Tigers general manager, league sources told @hoopshype . Harris and the Stockton Kings recently won the 2025 G League championship. Harris also played for Stanford University.
Ziaire Williams seems to have finally gotten beyond his reputation for inconsistency which has plagued him since his freshman year at Stanford. “He’s taken advantage of all those opportunities. He’s embraced what we’re doing and the process, which is the best thing. He understands. He’s about the right things,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. “I’m happy with him, and I’ve seen what I had to see. I also need him to go through this [remaining] stretch of eight games. “So, he’s embraced every situation. I’m very happy with what I’ve seen from him, and then we’ll make decisions when we have to. Obviously, it’s very collaborative around here. I’m not the one making decisions on the roster, but I’m always asked, and right now, we’re in a good place. The process is the best thing; it’s just going through it.”
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Spencer Jones—the 24-year-old Nuggets forward still trying to make a name for himself in the NBA—followed a similar path. Knowing a future pro career wouldn’t last forever—if he was able to make the NBA at all—he learned about venture capital investing, looked over pitch decks, and analyzed health and tech start-ups looking to raise capital. He joined LinkedIn near the end of his senior year at Stanford to formalize the relationships he’d built over five years on campus. “The weight of each follower on LinkedIn carries a lot more than any other platform,” Jones says. “Venture capital is a fairly small community once you’re really in it, and so founders typically know other founders. You get insights on them, and you get insights on how companies are performing beyond what they send you. And so my due diligence has only increased with the increasing network.”
Spencer Jones On his LinkedIn activity . . . I’m not really a social media guy, but it initially started because, leaving Stanford, you want to hold onto the network. It was just very purposeful. I had a specific small audience. I could see the growth for it as well, but it was mostly just to keep the presence of mind of, ‘Hey, I’m on a two-way contract. It’s much more likely for it to not go past the couple years then to, just looking at just general numbers.’ And so I wanted a backup plan. I’ve always had one my entire life. I just wanted to take advantage of the brand for as little or as long as I had it.
Coming out of high school in Kansas, the 6-foot-7, three-star recruit Spencer Jones was hoping basketball would help him land at a reputable college, not the NBA. It worked out perfectly when he committed to Stanford in 2019. “I was not planning on making it big,” Jones tells Front Office Sports. “The goal was just to use basketball to get into a place like [Stanford]. Everything else kind of felt like a bonus.” It was only after his sophomore season in 2020–21 that the NBA became a realistic option. But he was expected to be a second-round pick at best, so he believed a Stanford degree should take priority. “Spencer has always liked basketball, but he never was one of those guys that said, ‘My dream was playing in the NBA,’” Dwayne Jones, Spencer’s father, tells FOS.
Although Jones’s LinkedIn activity nods to his on-court success, he’s really using the platform to prepare for a career after basketball. “I know once my [basketball] career is over,” Jones tells FOS. “I’m using all this to just pretty much seamlessly bounce into the next thing.” Jones had an idea what the next thing could be. While basketball was central to his Stanford experience, so was learning about venture capital investing, reading pitch decks, and understanding start-up financials. He also mingled with the school’s elite network.
Michael Scotto: Sacramento Kings signed No. 42 pick Maxime Raynaud to a three-year, $5.95 million deal, which is fully guaranteed the first two seasons and includes a third-year team option, sources told @hoopshype . He averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks last season at Stanford.
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Stanford Rivals: Stanford wing Oziyah Sellers (@OziyahSellers) has announced that he is entering the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility/entering the transfer portal. A return to Stanford is still on the table for him. #Stanford #ACCMBB #NBADraft
Rutgers star Ace Bailey has a higher upside than Cooper Flagg, according to both Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George and former Stanford star and current Fox analyst Casey Jacobsen. “I think Ace Bailey is a little bit more raw talent with still a ton of upside,” George said on the latest edition of “Podcast P with Paul George.” “I think Cooper Flagg, not to say he doesn’t have upside, he has amazing upside as well but I think Ace Bailey has a little bit more upside to him.”
The fact is, the Bucks are trying to keep themselves in check a little bit. Playing with emotion − and playing with ruffled feathers and ragged nerves are two very different head and mind spaces. Evidence: the 2024 first-round playoff dismissal at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. “We talked about it as a team; on the Indiana series, emotionally, I thought we didn’t handle that well at times,” Rivers said. “Brook, when he goes, he goes. I think he’s only had one maybe, where he’s completely lost his Stanford mind. But he’s aware of it. He’s just been in a great place. I think he loves his team, and he knows all those things help.”
Bennett Durando: The Nuggets are signing Stanford’s Spencer Jones as their third two-way contract for the upcoming season, league source tells @DenverPost . The 6-foot-7 forward shot 39.7% from 3 across a five-year college career. Denver likes his combination of size, skill and shooting.