San Antonio Spurs News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Mar 2, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) dribbles against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Spunky San Antonio Spurs Not Contenders, Yet

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Rylan Stiles | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 4:47 PM ET

San Antonio wants to get back to its winning ways. A historic franchise with five championships that dominated the 2000s and 2010s, but was last in the NBA Playoffs in the 2018-19 season.

The good news is? Luck remains on the side of the Spurs. Not only did they secure the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to select the best prospect since LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, but most recently in the 2025 NBA Draft they leaped up to the No. 2 slot to nab Dylan Harper. Sandwiched in between? The No. 4 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Steph Castle, who went on to win Rookie of the Year.

Harper's impressive Summer League would set him on a path to bagging the Spurs' third straight Rookie of the Year honors if it weren't for Cooper Flagg in Dallas, who just has to roll out of bed for 65 games to see the writers vote him in for the award.

Between these draft picks, the Spurs also made a massive trade at the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, picking up De'Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. The goal remains for Fox to be the running mate with Webanyama, but the two have only played five games together before the seven-foot-three phenom was shut down for the rest of the season. That wasn't enough time to truly judge the partnership or for them to gain any chemistry on the hardwood.

On Monday, the Spurs inked Fox to a four-year $229 max contract extension. This keeps the Kentucky product in San Antonio for the foreseeable future and represents a bit of a gamble by San Antonio with the Spurs' logjam of guards and the uncertainty about Fox's fit next to their prize center.

In the Summer of change in San Antonio, they also usher in a new head coach for the first time since legendary Bench Boss Gregg Popovich was hired for the 1997-97 campaign. Mitch Johnson, who handled the back half of last season at the helm, now takes over the reins full-time for the Spurs.

Are the San Antonio Spurs contenders?

Not yet.

The Spurs should see a massive improvement from their 34-48 mark a year ago. They should finally make a return to the NBA Playoffs, but at the very least make a return to the play-in tournament.

Wembanyama is a sensational player, Fox is All-Star caliber and their role players –– while mostly young –– are winning players. Rookie Carter Bryant is a defensive ace, a member of the All-Juice team, and can inject plenty of energy into every game.

Giving their top two players, Bryant, Harper, Castle, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan and Kelly Olynyk, is a fantastic starting point to just right the ship for the Spurs.

However, when looking around the Western Conference, the Spurs do not have enough firepower to truly compete in the left conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder are still leaps and bounds above the Rodeo rebounders, while they have no argument to even compete with the Nuggets, Rockets, Timberwolves and even Lakers.

But the goal for the Spurs shouldn't be a Larry O'Brien trophy. While everyone wants to race to put Wembanyama in the Hall of Fame with seven NBA Championships, just slow down.

San Antonio has to figure out their crowded back court and how it all fits together. They still need to make moves on the margin for more complementary players for their phenomenal center, rather than just flanking him with quality players who don't necessarily fit or maximize his skillset.

The best the Spurs can hope for in terms of production this season is a top-six seed in the Western Conference, while the No. 10 seed should be their floor if they finish the season fully healthy. That is worth celebrating on the boardwalk! But the process has just truly begun for San Antonio.

There should be plenty of long-term optimism in South Texas for these Spurs. They have plenty of future assets, a young crop of budding prospects that can reach All-Star or better heights and an interesting young coach that learned the ropes from one of the best bench bosses of all time. This just isn't the year for it to all come together.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: