After a bumpy stretch where the San Antonio Spurs went 10-9 and looked like they were slipping from the early-season magic that turned heads across the league, something has clicked again. They’ve rattled off five straight wins heading into the All-Star break, and more importantly, they’re starting to look like the team that shocked everyone back in the fall.
The biggest difference? Health. The Spurs are finally whole again, and with a full roster, they’re rediscovering their identity-gritty, resilient, and tough as nails when it matters most.
This isn’t a team that’s going to blow you away with fireworks every night. In fact, they’ve made a habit of winning the kind of games that test your mettle.
Take their recent clash with the Houston Rockets. It was physical, it was messy, and it was the kind of game that could’ve easily gone sideways.
Victor Wembanyama took his lumps-both figuratively and literally-but instead of backing down, he responded with an edge we haven’t always seen from the rookie phenom.
In the fourth quarter, Wembanyama flipped the switch. He dared Amen Thompson to beat him from the outside, and when the Rockets couldn’t find an answer, the Spurs slammed the door shut, holding Houston to just 14 points in the final frame.
Wembanyama also made his presence felt at the free-throw line and from mid-range, punishing the Rockets when it counted. That comeback win?
A few weeks ago, this team probably doesn’t pull that one out. But now, they’re learning how to win the hard way.
Since that game, the formula hasn’t changed much. The Spurs are leaning into their defense, dominating the paint, and getting to the line when the outside shots stop falling. It’s not always pretty, but it’s effective-and for a young team, that’s a huge step forward.
These kinds of wins matter. They build habits, confidence, and toughness-things you can’t fake when the playoffs roll around. And for a group that’s light on postseason experience, that’s invaluable.
Right now, Harrison Barnes is the elder statesman when it comes to playoff minutes. He’s logged 71 of them, and he’s got a ring to show for it.
Luke Kornet isn’t far behind with 43 playoff games and a championship of his own. But beyond that?
De’Aaron Fox has just seven postseason games under his belt in eight NBA seasons. The rest of the Spurs’ rotation?
Not a single playoff minute between them.
That’s why every hard-fought win matters. And while the NBA Cup isn’t the playoffs, it wasn’t nothing either.
The single-elimination format brought a playoff-like atmosphere, and the Spurs showed they could handle it. In the semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they trailed by 17 but clawed all the way back to win-without even having Wembanyama at full strength due to a minutes restriction.
That comeback wasn’t a fluke. It was a team learning how to fight, how to win when things aren’t going their way, and how to trust each other in the toughest moments. For a group this young, that’s rare-and it’s exactly the kind of growth that could make the Spurs a real problem when the games start to really count.