The San Antonio Spurs’ rise has them sitting in the title conversation heading into the 2026-27 season, but Bleacher Report doesn’t quite see their starting five as one of the league’s very best.
In Greg Swartz’s latest rankings released Sunday, the Spurs came in at No. 6 overall, even after their first NBA Finals appearance since 2014. Only Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, New York, Indiana, and Denver were placed ahead of them.
Swartz projected San Antonio’s starting group as De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, and Victor Wembanyama. It’s the same five Mitch Johnson leaned on most often last season, and that lineup delivered a 21-3 record when it started together.
Still, Swartz pointed to some real uncertainty around the group, especially in the backcourt. He described Castle and Dylan Harper as "the backcourt of the future" for the Spurs, while also noting that current starting point guard De'Aaron Fox "may not like the idea of being a sixth man." He added that Tobias Harris, a recent free agent addition, could push Champagnie for the starting power forward spot.
There’s a fair argument for San Antonio to be higher. A Finals run tends to carry some weight, and Wembanyama gives the Spurs a ceiling most teams can only chase. But the clubs ranked above them all have strong cases, even if several are also dealing with the task of getting key starters back into the mix after injuries.
Denver is expected to work Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back in. Oklahoma City will need Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Williams to slot back in. Indiana faces the same kind of reintegration with Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith.
That’s part of what makes the Spurs such an interesting case. Their rotation has depth, Harper and Harris are set for major roles no matter where they start, and the lineup could shift as the season unfolds. But with Wembanyama at the center of it all, San Antonio still looks like a team built to chase a championship - even if its starting five only checked in at No. 6 on this list.
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Chris Paul Still Cannot Believe What Wemby Went Through Before Spurs
Chris Paul spent part of his time in San Antonio doing more than just helping the Spurs on the floor. As a veteran voice in the locker room, he also served as a mentor for younger players, including Victor Wembanyama, and one of the most striking parts of that relationship was learning how different the French stars path to the NBA really was. Paul talked about the contrast between the American high school-to-college pipeline and the European academy system, where basketball development is built around a very different structure.
Wembanyama came up through that route in France with Nanterre 92s academy, which is a long way from the familiar U.S. model most NBA players know. For Paul, the broader lesson was less about basketball skill than about perspective, because Wembanyamas upbringing reflected a level of independence and a developmental track that simply does not exist for most young American prospects. [Read more 🡒]
Bleacher Report Ranking Spurs Sixth Is A Massive Snub
Bleacher Reports latest look at NBA starting fives gave the Spurs a spot that feels a little light for a team coming off a Western Conference title run. Even with the offseason shuffle around the league, San Antonios case is built on something a lot of contenders still have to prove: continuity. The group already knows how to play together, and compared with some of the teams slotted ahead of it, theres a strong argument that chemistry and health give the Spurs a cleaner foundation.
San Antonio also has a lineup that may not stay fixed for long, which only adds to the intrigue. Dylan Harper and Tobias Harris are both names to keep in mind as the season unfolds, and the Spurs have enough flexibility that performance could change the look of the starting five before long. For now, though, the bigger question is whether a team that just won the West really belongs chasing respect rather than setting the standard. [Read more 🡒]
The Spurs Are Becoming The Playoff Team Nobody Wants
The Spurs are starting to look like the kind of playoff opponent nobody in the West wants to see, because the roster gives them more than one way to beat you. Victor Wembanyama is already the obvious problem, a 7-foot-4 rim protector whose presence can warp a game plan, but the larger issue is how San Antonio can keep changing the terms of the matchup from one night to the next.
If teams load up on Wembanyama, the Spurs have downhill answers in Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, and if the series turns into a more physical grind, they can lean on size and depth with Luke Kornet, Tarris Reed Jr. and eventually Jayden Quaintance. That flexibility is what makes them so awkward to prepare for, because they can survive a defensive slog or turn it into a faster, more open game without giving opponents much comfort either way. [Read more 🡒]