San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1). Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

NBA trends: Will the Spurs ever be worth more than a serious fade?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 12/13/23

So, there's no delicate way to put this, but the San Antonio Spurs are bad. Like really really bad. And it doesn't appear that oddsmakers are giving them much of a chance to turn things around, either.

Sportsbooks weren't expecting much from Gregg Popovich's team much of a shot ahead of the 2023-24 season, even with No. 1 overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama being among the best rookies in the league. And that was before they went on a franchise-long 17-game losing streak that is topped only by the Detroit Pistons, who are reaching the NBA all-time record for longest single-season skid.

Are the Spurs an even worse bet than they were before the start of the season? Let's take a gander before you decide to bet your holiday bonus.

Goodmorning.

The Houston #Rockets served the San Antonio Spurs their 17th consecutive loss, which is the most in their franchise’s history!pic.twitter.com/yuV5FSwY7v
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) December 12, 2023

Yes, the Spurs' odds of winning are even longer. They were listed at 250-1 long shots following the 2023 NBA Draft, and that value stayed the same over the summer heading into the start of the season . Now, DraftKings has San Antonio listed in a six-way tie with the longest odds to win the NBA championship at 1000-1 odds. The Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and 20-straight-loss Pistons make up the rest of the group at the bottom of the barrel.

And while at least one of those teams could climb out of the cellar, San Antonio probably isn't the team you want to be betting on this season.

As Yardbarker explained this week, San Antonio's lack of elite ball-handling in the starting lineup is just one of the many issues that have put this team in such a deep hole — yes, even with Wembanyama on the roster. In fact, writer Ethan Temkin even puts some of the blame on Wembanyama because of the towering Frenchman's questionable shot selection.

But all hoops fans know that one generational player does not an NBA team make, and surely putting a better starting lineup together would help San Antonio's chances of being a better bet in the future. That could take a while, however. So you should probably still keep your clams stashed away until they are a better bet.