The Spurs’ point guard debate has a simple finish line, and it runs straight through Victor Wembanyama.
De’Aaron Fox brings the kind of steady, seasoned presence that can settle an offense. Dylan Harper brings the buzz of a No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the kind of upside that already has people talking about superstar potential. That’s the headline fight in San Antonio, and it’s not going away anytime soon.
But the real decision isn’t just about which guard is better in a vacuum. It’s about which one makes Wembanyama better.
That’s the standard in San Antonio now, just as it was during the Tim Duncan era: the best lineup is the one that most cleanly serves the franchise centerpiece. Wembanyama is the face of the team, and the starting five has to be built around maximizing what he does.
Fox certainly made his case in 2025-26. He led the Spurs in minutes per game and helped guide the team to a 10-2 record while Wembanyama missed 12 straight games between November and December. With Fox on the floor, Wembanyama shot 10.7 percent better from beyond the arc and bumped his true shooting percentage up by 3.7 percent.
Harper had his own effect, too. Wembanyama shot 1.2 percent worse from three with Harper on the court, but he got to the line 1.9 more times per 75 possessions and raised his true shooting percentage by 2.6 percent.
The two-man numbers tell their own story. Fox and Wembanyama posted a +15.2 net rating over 1,047 minutes. Harper and Wembanyama were even more explosive at +28.6, though that came in a much smaller 500-minute sample.
So the debate is headed into a real test. Training camp and the early part of the 2026-27 season are now the proving ground, with Harper out of rookie status, Fox in his prime at 28, and Wembanyama another year older and sharper.
Mitch Johnson will sort through the combinations, and Wembanyama will sit at the center of every answer. The starter will be the guard who fits him best.
In Other News...
Spurs Just Gave Carter Bryant A Tougher Path To A Bigger Role
The Spurs spent the offseason making life a little more crowded on the wing, and that matters for a second-year forward like Carter Bryant. Adding Tobias Harris gave San Antonio another experienced option in a rotation that already includes Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes, which means the path to consistent minutes is going to be more demanding than it might have looked a few months ago.
For Bryant, though, the shuffle comes with a built-in benefit. He has talked about how much he is picking up from the veterans around him, especially on both ends of the floor, and he seems to value the day-to-day teaching as much as the competition. Vassell has stood out as a particular source of that guidance, which gives Bryant a chance to keep growing even as he tries to carve out a larger role. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Fans Just Got A Telling Look At Austins New Brain Trust
The Austin Spurs have finished assembling their coaching staff for the 2026 season, a reset that gives San Antonio followers a fresh look at the organizations next layer of development. The group includes Carson Shanks as associate head coach, along with new additions Jackie Hua as head athletic trainer and Kevin Williamson as strength and conditioning coach, all part of the infrastructure that shapes how young players are prepared and polished.
Tristen Licon also earned a promotion to player development and performance coordinator, a move that underscores how much the Spurs value continuity in their development pipeline. With the season set to open Nov. 8 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, the staff is now in place, and the next question is how quickly this new-look bench can turn preparation into on-court progress. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face Their Biggest Test Yet After Last Seasons Breakthrough
San Antonio heads into the 2026-27 season with a very different kind of pressure than it faced a year ago. After a 62-win breakthrough and a return to the NBA Finals, the Spurs are no longer trying to prove they belong in the conversation, they are trying to live up to it. The offseason brought Tobias Harris into the mix, and the familiar core around him gives this group a chance to pick up where it left off rather than start over.
Devin Vassell and the rest of the locker room sound well aware that last seasons success does not buy anything now. The expectations are obvious, but so is the work still required to turn a strong roster into a team that can handle the grind of another long season and another run through the West. For the Spurs, the next step is not about celebrating what happened before. It is about finding out whether the breakthrough can hold up when everyone is aiming at them. [Read more 🡒]