Devin Vassell has spent the last few games looking more and more like the kind of player every winning team needs: steady, versatile, and ready when the game tightens up. For the San Antonio Spurs, that has meant strong two-way play and a late-game presence that’s hard to ignore. He ranks sixth in the league in clutch field goal percentage, and that alone says plenty about where he stands among the NBA’s best role players.
What makes Vassell so valuable is the way he bends an offense without needing to dominate it. He can space the floor from the corner, work off screens to get free, or create a shot for himself when the Spurs need a second option to bail out a possession. That mix has given San Antonio a real lift, especially during its recent hot streak.
His clutch work has been a big part of that. In the Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, Vassell poured in a season-high 21 points, with several of them coming late in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
He didn’t just wait around for the ball to find him, either. He attacked the defense with aggressive cuts, knocked down mid-range jumpers, and finished a layup as San Antonio closed the deal.
That kind of production is not easy to deliver in his spot on the roster. Vassell isn’t the Spurs’ primary shot-creation engine, so he doesn’t get the same volume or rhythm-building chances as Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and De’Aaron Fox. Even so, the Spurs know exactly what they’re getting from him when the game is on the line: a player who can deliver big buckets in winning time.
And that’s only part of the package. Vassell has also been one of San Antonio’s best perimeter defenders, making life difficult for opponents and forcing turnovers. He’s chipped in as a secondary playmaker, too, which has helped keep the Spurs’ offense moving late in games.
It’s tough to picture this team taking the next step without him. Vassell has trimmed back some of his touches and shot attempts to become more of a complete 3&D weapon, and that adjustment has paid off for the Spurs.
The scoring hasn’t disappeared - he’s just learned how to blend it with everything else he brings. When the moment calls for it, though, he still knows how to put the ball in the basket, and this season has already given San Antonio plenty of proof.
In Other News...
Spurs Blowouts Are Hiding Just How Far Wembanyama Could Go
Victor Wembanyama keeps flashing the kind of ceiling that makes it easy to forget how early this still is for him. Even with the Spurs rolling through a string of lopsided wins, he has still stacked up eye-catching production on a per-minute basis, including stretches that hint at a far bigger statistical load if the games stayed competitive longer.
The blowouts have also meant San Antonio has not needed to lean on him for full workloads, which is part of why his raw totals still feel like a preview rather than the finished product. When he has been on the floor, the numbers have been loud enough to turn heads, and the real question now is how much more there is once the Spurs start asking him to carry those minutes in tighter games. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Making The Spurs Look Like A Real Problem
The Spurs are starting to look less like a nice early-season story and more like a team opponents have to plan around. San Antonio stretched its winning streak to nine games with a 122-96 road win over Phoenix, and Victor Wembanyama was the center of everything, piling up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots while controlling the game at both ends.
Phoenix had Devin Booker in attack mode with 32 points, but the Suns never found enough help or enough answers around the basket. For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway is how complete this run has become, with Wembanyama anchoring a team that is winning away from home and making the rest of the West take notice. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Just Gave Spurs Fans Another Reason To Believe
Victor Wembanyama keeps giving the Spurs reasons to think this fast start is more than a hot stretch. On Nov. 9, San Antonio rolled past Phoenix 122-96 to run its winning streak to eight games, and the rookie center was at the center of it again, pouring in 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting while adding 11 rebounds. The Spurs controlled the glass and the paint, pairing Wembanyamas efficiency with a defensive edge that has become part of their identity during this surge.
Devin Bookers 32 points kept the Suns from disappearing entirely, but Phoenix never matched San Antonios energy or physicality and dropped to 3-6. For the Spurs, the bigger picture is hard to ignore: they are 9-2 and winning in ways that suggest this start is built on more than one standout night. The next question is how long this can last once the schedule tightens and the league keeps adjusting to Wembanyamas presence. [Read more 🡒]