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Las Vegas • Through all his years as Jerry Sloan's right hand guy, Phil Johnson never sought validation for the job he's done as an assistant coach.
On Tuesday afternoon, that validation came, regardless.
Johnson was given the inaugural Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award during Utah's summer league game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The award is given to the assistant who has made an impact over the course of a long career.
"I think it's a terrific honor," Johnson said. "It's the first one they've ever had. It's been a great ride for me. I've been with a number of great coaches over a number of years, so it's been very good.
Johnson worked with Sloan for 23 years on a number of very good Jazz teams. He's also worked with people like Dick Motta and Frank Layden. With Sloan, Johnson helped the Jazz to 16 playoff appearances and two Western Conference championships.
Johnson, who graduated from Utah State, retired with Sloan in 2011 when Sloan left. He also coached at Weber State and was inducted into the Wildcats Hall Of Fame in 1992. And he did a three-year head coaching stint with the Kansas City-Omaha — and later Sacramento — Kings, earning NBA coach of the year honors in 1975.
"It's really a great honor," Johnson said of the Winter award. "It's validation that if you do your job and stay loyal, good things can happen."
— Tony Jones