SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs came out of last season’s run to the NBA Finals with a clear lesson, and they’re not pretending it was a subtle one: if they want to keep climbing, they have to get comfortable with contact.
That message has been front and center as San Antonio opened training camp after three months without organized basketball. The focus isn’t just on surviving physical games when the stakes rise in the playoffs. It’s on making that edge part of the team’s everyday identity.
Victor Wembanyama set the tone early. After three days of training camp, he described physical play as something the Spurs have to work at mentally as much as physically.
"We've got to get our brains used to doing those hard things," the Frenchman said after three days of training camp. "Playing physical, it's a bit of technique and (a bit) of learning. But it's mostly effort and going through some uncomfortable things."
That lesson was sharpened during the Spurs’ series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. The matchup forced the issue for a young team still figuring out what championship-level basketball demands, and Wembanyama made it clear he sees value in that kind of test.
"There's just one way to beat that," Wembanyama said. "To do it ... I'm glad we faced those."
Stephon Castle felt the same push-and-pull in Game 1 of the second round. He played 28 minutes, scored 17 points and fouled out as the Spurs dropped the opener. Some of the whistles left him frustrated, but he also acknowledged the challenge of staying true to his defensive style.
"It's frustrating," Castle admitted. "Other teams are playing as physical as us ... sometimes the calls just don't go our way, but I can't change who I am defensively."
For Castle, the lesson was less about backing off and more about learning how to channel that aggression. San Antonio is trying to keep the edge without getting buried by foul trouble.
That balance came up again with Keldon Johnson, who said the Spurs’ playoff experience should translate into better habits now that the calendar has reset. Johnson, the longest-tenured Spur, knows the difference between playoff basketball and the regular season better than most on the roster.
"(It's about) being in the right positions and being smarter," Keldon Johnson said. "Obviously, you want to be physical, but (we have to) be smart with the physicality so ... we're not in foul trouble, we're not committing dumb fouls. Being in the right spots early."
Johnson added that the postseason carried lessons the Spurs are trying to carry forward.
"Those are the carry-overs that we took away from playoffs," Johnson said. "Obviously, (the) playoffs (are) a different game of basketball than the regular season. You step that physicality up, but we're just trying to clean up the little details, as well."
Luke Kornet took the same theme a step further, saying physicality is about more than taking hits in the paint. For him, it’s about pace, pressure and energy - the kind of force that makes opponents feel San Antonio from the opening tip.
"Something we want to do is just play a lot of force," Kornet said.
Kornet, entering his second season with the Spurs, said the league leaves no room for teams that shy away from that style.
"I think we had some good learning experiences in terms of ways to grow," Kornet said. "I think it's something that, especially I feel like in the league right now, it's like a non-negotiable to just kind of play with that energy and that force on a night-to-night basis."
The Spurs paid for those lessons with a championship run that ended short of the finish they wanted. Now the task is to make sure the next time they get there, physicality isn’t a playoff adjustment - it’s already part of who they are.
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