When the conversation turns to the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama usually grabs the spotlight. That makes sense. But the Spurs’ rise is built on more than one towering name, and the backcourt is starting to look like a real problem for the rest of the league.
Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle have given San Antonio another pair of young pieces with star-level upside, and Harper is not shy about how they see themselves. Ahead of their second and third NBA seasons, respectively, he said the confidence inside that guard duo is sky-high.
"The biggest thing is that we both think we’re the best guards in the NBA, plus Fox. The relationship kinda in the beginning came from that competitive mindset, and it grew off the court. We could talk about anything, literally, so I mean it’s a great relationship to have," Harper said about his relationship with Castle ahead of their second year playing together.
That kind of edge fits a Spurs team that just made a run to the NBA Finals in 2026 and now has to deal with the pressure that comes with being one of the league’s top targets. San Antonio climbed all the way to the top of the Western Conference, pushing past the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, before falling to the New York Knicks in five games.
Even with that ending, the message was clear: this group is not going anywhere. The Spurs’ young core has already put the rest of the league on notice, and Harper and Castle’s belief in themselves only adds another layer to a team that appears to be building something big.
For San Antonio, the challenge now is holding onto that chemistry and keeping the core intact. With Wembanyama, Harper, and Castle all in place, the Spurs have a trio they clearly believe in - and a backcourt that doesn’t plan on taking a backseat to anyone.
In Other News...
Spurs Just Added A Camp Body And The Next Cut Matters
The Spurs filled the open spot on their preseason roster by bringing in free agent forward Terry Taylor on a non-guaranteed training camp contract, a move that gets San Antonio to the preseason maximum of 21 players. To make room, the team waived RJ Davis, and Taylor is widely expected to land with the Austin Spurs, where he can remain in the organization and keep working through camp.
For San Antonio, the transaction is less about the immediate rotation than about the next round of roster trimming, since camp bodies often become the first domino to fall. Taylor brings NBA experience from stints with multiple teams, and the Spurs will also be watching how other clubs manage their own depth, including Sacramentos recent decision to bring back center Viktor Lakhin on an Exhibit 10 deal as injury concerns continue to shape frontcourt plans. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Rookie Battle Is Heating Up After A Brutal First-Round Setback
The Spurs entered camp with plenty of rookie intrigue, but the early picture changed quickly when Jayden Quaintance, the No. 20 overall pick, was expected to miss most or all of his first season after meniscus surgery. For a team already trying to sort out rotations and sharpen its depth, that kind of setback puts extra attention on the rest of the rookie class and how quickly it can help fill in the edges.
Tarris Reed Jr. and JaKobi Gillespie have both flashed in preseason, giving San Antonio something to evaluate as the lineup takes shape around a group that is expected to keep improving. Mitch Johnson has already singled out Gillespies energy and competitiveness, and with Carter Bryant expected to make a leap in his second year, the Spurs have more developmental pieces to monitor than answers locked in place just yet. [Read more 🡒]
De'Aaron Fox Just Changed How Spurs Fans Will View His Finals Struggles
De'Aaron Fox has been around long enough to know how quickly the conversation can turn in the postseason, and he made it clear he does not spend much time swimming in it. After Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Fox said he steers clear of basketball chatter on social media and does not entertain the negative opinions that tend to pile up when a stars production dips at the wrong time. For fans trying to make sense of his struggles, the bigger context now matters: the guard said he was battling through a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Foxs revelation changes the way his playoff run should be judged, especially for a player whose reputation has been built on speed, toughness and staying on the floor. He stressed that he kept competing anyway, even as the injury clearly affected him deep into the postseason. For San Antonio observers, it is the kind of detail that reframes a rough stretch without erasing it, and it leaves the broader discussion where it often ends up in the Finals: somewhere between what the box score showed and what the body was quietly enduring. [Read more 🡒]