San Antonio Spurs: Sneaky Playoff Contenders
With five championships to their name, the San Antonio Spurs are one of the most accomplished franchises in the NBA. From the late 90s to their most recent championship against the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat in 2014, the Spurs have long been recognized as a cornerstone organization in the league.
Ever since the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili and even Kawhi Leonard-eras came to a close, however, the Spurs have found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
In fact, the last time the Spurs made the playoffs – which resulted in a first round series loss to the Denver Nuggets – was during the 2018-2019 season. Leonard was off to the Toronto Raptors where he would go on to win a championship alongside Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam against the Golden State Warriors. This left the Spurs having to lean on players known for previous career stops like Paul Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan.
For several seasons, the Spurs were without a franchise player and certainly not performing up to par with how they had for the previous two decades.
Then came Victor Wembanyama, who, heading into year two, has already been touted as San Antonio’s next franchise player. Just like that, in 2023, the Spurs launched themselves into a rebuild centered around him.
In Wembanyama’s rookie season, that rebuild certainly looked as if it were in the early stages. Any chances of a playoff run seemed several seasons away at least. That is, until this offseason, when a few moves in free agency changed the narrative around the Spurs, thus making a trip to the playoffs this year not so incomprehensible.
San Antonio Adds Two Veterans
The first addition was Chris Paul, who signed a one-year deal for upwards of $11 million back in late June. This signing speeds up the Spurs’ rebuild exponentially, given that Paul is heading into his 20th season in the NBA. He will immediately be a voice for a young locker room like San Antonio’s.
Paul is a 12-time NBA All-Star, has 11 All-NBA selections to his name and is currently 197 assists away from passing Jason Kidd on the league’s all-time assists list. Passing Kidd would move him into second place all-time.
Paul will also serve as the perfect facilitator for Wembanyama. The reigning rookie of the year will head into his sophomore season with one of the most prolific point guards in the NBA’s history in his backcourt.
Just over a week later, the Spurs padded their veteran presence with the addition of 12-year NBA veteran Harrison Barnes.
Barnes spent the last five and a half seasons with the Sacramento Kings. He averaged 12.2 points per game during the 2023-2024 campaign on a team that narrowly missed out on the playoffs after a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament.
Barnes will serve as another seasoned player on the Spurs’ roster. He also brings with him something Paul does not, which is championship experience from his time with the Warriors. Barnes knows what it takes to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy and can show the first and second year Spurs players what a successful playoff team looks like.
Barnes may have played second fiddle to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento, but he will certainly have his shot in San Antonio. While the Spurs’ offense will undoubtedly run through Wembanyama, he will pose as another valuable scoring option for the transitioning franchise.
“Getting [Paul], getting [Barnes] in that rotation…every year that goes on, the more I realize when one or two guys get plugged into a lineup, or if they get hurt during the season, how much that affects a team,” Stadium and The Athletic writer Shams Charania said about the Spurs’ significant offseason on “The Ogs” podcast hosted by former NBA players Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem.
Expanding On A Young Core
San Antonio already has a solid group of young players, and while Wembanyama may headline them all, there are other players who will be pivotal to the Spurs’ success in the coming seasons.
Players like Devin Vassell, who averaged 19.5 points per game last season, and Jeremy Sochan, who averaged 11.6 points per game last season, are just as important to the Spurs’ efforts moving forward. Even players who have a few more seasons under their belt like Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins will add a lot of depth to San Antonio’s rotation.
The Spurs also enhanced their roster depth by way of the draft, beginning with Stephon Castle, whom San Antonio selected with the fourth overall pick. Castle averaged 11.1 points per game and won a championship back in April at UConn. He will gain a lot from being around a player of Paul's caliber.
San Antonio also drafted Harrison Ingram and picked up Juan Núñez by way of a trade with the Indiana Pacers. Ingram played the first two years of his collegiate career with Stanford and then this past season, averaged 12.2 points per game with North Carolina. Núñez, on the other hand, joins the Spurs from Spain, where he’s played professionally since 2020.
Even young players like Tre Jones and recent addition Malachi Flynn from the Detroit Pistons could end up being important players the Spurs can lean on come a possible playoff push in March and April.
The Western Conference may be oozing with as much talent as ever, but the Spurs have completely changed the narrative surrounding their team. It will take time, but San Antonio has a shot to be a play-in team, perhaps even getting over the playoff hump in 2025.
The Spurs will open up their season against the defending Western Conference champion Mavericks at 7:30 EST on October 24.