The Spurs’ 1-2 start has opened the door to some early-season hand-wringing, but there’s no reason to hit the panic button yet.
San Antonio dropped its first two games to the Thunder and Rockets before getting back on track Saturday against the Cooper Flagg-less Mavericks. The rough patch arrived after the Spurs won the Western Conference last season, which means this group is now dealing with a very different kind of expectation than it had a year ago.
Even so, this doesn’t look like a team in trouble. The Spurs are still working through how to fit Dylan Harper into the starting lineup alongside De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, and that kind of adjustment usually takes time.
Fox and Harper have both been solid enough to start the season. The bigger issue has been Victor Wembanyama, whose offense has been way off the standard he set last season.
Against Oklahoma City, he turned in one of the worst offensive performances of his career.
That said, Wembanyama’s early struggles don’t change the broader outlook. He’s not a player the Spurs need to worry about long term, and there’s still every reason to believe he’ll get back into rhythm soon. Tobias Harris, the team’s free-agent addition, is also expected back from injury in the near future, giving Mitch Johnson another body who can crash the offensive glass and help the younger players.
The context around the standings also works in San Antonio’s favor. The West doesn’t appear to be as deep as the East, so a stumble or two is less likely to bury a team with this much talent. And with Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace sidelined long term, the Thunder - the Spurs’ biggest competition in the conference entering the year - already have taken a serious hit.
What has actually gone wrong? Start with Wembanyama’s shooting.
He’s at just 36.5 percent from the field, and when your best player isn’t producing like your best player, everything gets harder. San Antonio has also been cold from deep, shooting under 32 percent from 3-point range.
That number should rise, especially when you compare it with the unbeaten Timberwolves and Lakers, who are more than 10 percentage points ahead.
The Spurs’ issues don’t stop there. They’re 26th in free throw attempts per game, which has left them with little margin for error.
Until they start getting to the line more often, the offense has fewer ways to cover for its other problems. Still, against opponents other than the Thunder and Rockets, those numbers should look a little more normal soon enough.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Have A New Opening In The West Race
A sudden injury scare in Oklahoma City has already nudged the Western Conference conversation in San Antonios direction, at least in the eyes of the betting market. After Jalen Williams went down with a lower left leg injury and was taken off on a stretcher, FanDuel Sportsbook shifted the Spurs ahead of the Thunder in the 2027 NBA title odds, a notable swing for a team that is still just 1-2 and trying to settle into its own season.
The timing is what makes it interesting for the Spurs, because Oklahoma City entered the week unbeaten at 3-0 and looked like one of the leagues early standard-bearers. With no official diagnosis yet for Williams as of Sunday night, the bigger picture in the West remains cloudy, but San Antonio at least found itself on the right side of a market move that says plenty about how quickly the balance can feel like it is changing. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Sochan Faces A Tough New Reality After Spurs Run
Jeremy Sochans latest stop comes with a different kind of pressure, and not much time to settle in. After a championship run with the New York Knicks and a previous stint with the San Antonio Spurs, he was selected No. 1 overall by the Texas Legends in the NBA G League Draft, giving him a new path as he enters his fifth professional season.
Sochan had signed a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, only to be waived before the regular season, which made the G League route a necessary next step rather than a detour. Even so, both the Texas Legends and the Dallas Mavericks organization have signaled belief in what he can still become, leaving his next move as one of the more interesting subplots around his career. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Keeps Proving The 2023 Draft Was No Debate
The 2023 draft class has been measured against Victor Wembanyama ever since the night San Antonio landed the first pick, and the comparison has only gotten starker as the league has moved on. Portlands decision not to reach a rookie extension with Scoot Henderson before the deadline adds another note to that conversation, because Henderson was taken third that year and now heads toward restricted free agency next summer after the Blazers and their young guard couldnt come to terms.
Wembanyama, meanwhile, just reinforced the gap on a much bigger stage. In the 2026 playoffs, he and Henderson met in the first round, and the Spurs star led San Antonio to a series win with the kind of individual impact that keeps separating him from his classmates. Around the league, other members of that draft have had moments, but none have touched the level Wembanyama is already bringing to a postseason series. [Read more 🡒]