The Spurs’ offseason additions may grab the headlines, but Devin Vassell’s rise is still one of the biggest reasons San Antonio’s future looks so promising.
Vassell was a major part of the team’s playoff run, giving the Spurs elite two-way production from the first round through the Finals. And the next step for him isn’t about expanding his offensive game for the sake of it. It’s about sharpening the 3&D role he already owns if San Antonio wants to get back to that stage.
That part of his growth got overshadowed by all the other storylines around the Spurs last season. Victor Wembanyama’s MVP-caliber play, Dylan Harper’s stunning development, and Stephon Castle’s monumental sophomore leap all had plenty of shine. But Vassell’s sixth season brought its own important development, even if it didn’t show up as a huge jump in raw scoring numbers.
What changed was his willingness to buy into a different kind of responsibility. He leaned into being a competitive two-way perimeter player, and that shift mattered for a team trying to build something bigger.
Last season asked Vassell to make a sacrifice. San Antonio needed him to take fewer shots so there would be room for Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper to keep growing. For a 25-year-old former lottery pick, that’s not the easiest adjustment to make.
Vassell handled it well. He shot 38% from three and became one of the Spurs’ most dependable perimeter defenders. That carried into the playoffs, where he helped generate stops against elite scorers and came up with steals.
There’s a strong case that this is the version of Vassell the Spurs need most. He can score 20-plus points per game elsewhere, but this role gives San Antonio a better chance to contend. Plenty of players never find that sweet spot and end up stuck in situations that never really go anywhere.
Vassell, though, put the team first. He did the defensive work, hit his threes at an elite clip, and gave the Spurs exactly what they needed.
Tobias Harris’ signing only reinforces that direction. San Antonio now has plenty of offensive creators, which means other players have to stay ready and embrace their roles even more.
Harris figures to be ahead of Vassell on the offensive pecking order next season, and that makes sense. He’s an experienced scorer who can fit alongside Victor Wembanyama and help the Spurs survive minutes when Wembanyama sits. For Vassell, the assignment is clear: keep proving he’s the best 3&D player on the roster.
There’s even a path where that role leads to bigger recognition, maybe even an All-Defensive team nod to go with his shooting. However it plays out, the foundation is already there. Vassell embraced the right things last season, and the Spurs have every reason to believe he can build on that this summer.
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Bryant is already drawing attention as one of the leagues players to watch, and the reasons are easy to see from the Spurs perspective. His athleticism, perimeter defense and three-point shooting all point toward the kind of complementary piece San Antonio wants next to Wembanyama, which makes his Summer League run more than just a developmental stop. The Spurs open play Thursday against the Hawks, and for a team still shaping its future, this is one of the more important auditions on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
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Mario Chalmers, who knows James from their Miami days, is not sold on the fit. His concern is less about talent than about what happens around a young team when a player with that much basketball IQ walks in, because the Spurs have spent so much time trying to grow their own voices and identity. For all the upside of adding a star of that magnitude, there is also the question of whether San Antonio would be asking its development path to bend too far around him. [Read more 🡒]
Keldon Johnson Gave Spurs Fans Hope And One Lingering Concern
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The concern, though, is what happens when the stage gets bigger. Johnsons scoring dipped once the playoffs arrived, and the slide became more noticeable as the postseason wore on, leaving the Spurs with a reminder that regular-season consistency does not always translate cleanly when the pressure rises. Even so, he remains a central part of where this team is headed, which is why his next step matters so much. [Read more 🡒]