SAN ANTONIO – If you ever hear a loud sound in the tunnels under the Frost Bank Center, there’s a good chance it emanated from Keldon Johnson or a boombox he’s controlling.

A leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, Keldon’s pregame playlist has become the stuff of legends. He’s been known to pump his teammates up with pop hits like “Call Me Maybe” and “A Thousand Miles” and “Party in the USA,” but lately with the Spurs riding a nine-game winning streak, the Virginia native has consistently gone to his country roots.

Before the Spurs run out on the court as a team, as the players gather in the tunnel, the first sound out of Keldon’s boombox is the fiddle that starts Darius Rucker’s rendition of “Wagon Wheel.” It may not be the prototypical pump-up track, but to quote Chazz Michael Michaels, it gets the people going.

“I love the song,” Johnson said with a big smile. “It’s just good vibes. We get to walk by our fans right there and get to get a little interaction before the game, have some fun, sing along. If it’s working, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, you know? I just keep the vibes high, continue to do what we do, and ultimately, just enjoying the process. I enjoy every game out there, singing ‘Wagon Wheel’ and getting that interaction. Long as you having fun, you just have to keep striving.”

Did some hard-hitting investigative journalism and asked Keldon about the headbands and Wagon Wheel

He’s a big fan of @dariusrucker and would like to meet him if he comes to another Spurs game pic.twitter.com/dxdofNhkcQ

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) March 31, 2026

Johnson grew up South Hill, Virginia, a rural town about 15 minutes from the North Carolina border and an hour and a half from Raliegh if you hitch a ride with a trucker headed that way. When he drives to the rim and leads with his shoulder he’s known to rock defenders like the wind and the rain, like a southbound train.

As it turns out, Keldon has indeed loved the song for a while. Video from May of 2019 shows him belting it out on his way to a pre-draft workout.

Keldon Johnson singing Wagon Wheel with surprising command of the lyrics and his pitch.

High floor karaoke prospect, and San Antonio is the perfect place for him to develop to his lofty potential. pic.twitter.com/DaLfWhp3LQ

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) June 21, 2019

Johnson was asked if he’s ever met Rucker, and said that he missed a chance last season.

“I think he came to one of our games,” Johnson said. “I think he’s pretty good friends with Chris Paul… so hopefully I get to meet him in the future I would love to, that would be a great opportunity to be able to meet somebody like that, I love his music.”

Keldon made it clear that it wasn’t CP3’s fault that the signals got crossed.

“Chris told me, I want to say I probably forgot to come out or something like that, but Chris, Chris was telling me because he heard me listening to his music, he was like, ‘Have you ever met Darius before? Oh, he’s gonna be at our game,’ and it probably totally slipped my mind. But, you know, praying hopefully I get another opportunity to meet him, that would be amazing.”

As it turns out, the admiration and hope for a future meeting is mutual.

“My man. Gotta find him,” Rucker wrote on Twitter.

My man. Gotta find him. https://t.co/Bakwgtzz6y

— Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) March 31, 2026

Keldon’s coaches and teammates all call him the heartbeat of this Spurs team, and that lub-dub is always loud. During Monday night’s win over the Bulls, it was Spurs fans who got loud in his honor and chanted, “SIXTH MAN! SIXTH MAN!”

“That’s dope. I love the city. I love our fans. We got the best friends in NBA,” Johnson said. “I’m just blessed and fortunate to be be in a situation, to be blessed enough to be mentioned in a conversation like that for Sixth Man. God willing, I will be Sixth Man of the Year, but we gotta continue to take care of business. The team is first, and I continue to preach that each and every time.”

“As long as we’re winning I’m happy, and the rest of the accolades and things like that will come with it,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotta continue to attack each and every game as a team, and continue to do my part to put us in the best situation to win.”

The Spurs keep winning, and Johnson keeps doing his part. Some of that is slashing to the basket, slamming home dunks, and shooting from outside. A big chunk is the energy he brings before, during, and after games. He yells on his way to the basket. He barks like a dog (or sometimes a seal) on his way to the locker room after a win.

And on the way to the court? He’s playing “Wagon Wheel.”