The Spurs’ three-point issues are still staring them in the face, and Ty Jerome is out in Memphis doing exactly the kind of damage San Antonio has been missing.
Through three games, the Spurs have launched 116 threes and only knocked down 37 of them. That’s 31.9 percent. They’ve been willing to fire away - 11th in the league in attempts - but the efficiency hasn’t followed, and that’s been the same old story.
Against Oklahoma City, they hit 10 of 37. Against Houston, 12 of 37.
In Dallas, 15 of 42. The percentage has moved in the right direction each night, from 27 percent to 32.4 percent to 35.7 percent, but the overall number still says the same thing: the shots are going up, and too many are missing.
Stephon Castle is at 37.9 percent on almost 10 attempts per game. Julian Champagnie is at 38.9 percent on fewer than four.
De’Aaron Fox is at 36.4 percent, and everyone else is capped at 33.3 percent. Last season, the Spurs finished at 35.9 percent from deep, tied for 14th in the NBA.
Right now, they’re 21st, and while that number should climb, there’s no clean answer yet for how much.
That’s why Jerome keeps popping into the conversation. I wrote back in May 2025 that San Antonio needed to add reliable shooting when it became clear Cleveland was going to let him go, and now the thought won’t leave me alone.
Jerome has opened the season on a tear for Memphis, which also happens to be in the Spurs’ division. He’s averaging a league-best 34.7 points per game for the 3-0 Grizzlies, and he’s doing it on a $9.2 million salary.
His opening night 45 against Utah was a career high and a franchise record for a Grizzlies season opener. He followed that with 28 at Golden State and 38 in Sacramento.
The shooting line is just as nasty: 56.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three. All of that is coming in the second year of a three-year, $27.6 million deal, with a player option worth $9.6 million waiting in 2027-28. He was the Western Conference Player of the Week, too.
And this isn’t some tiny sample fluke from a guy who’s never done it before. Jerome shot 51.6 percent overall and 43.9 percent from deep for Cleveland the season I wrote that piece. That’s real shot-making, not a hot week.
To be fair, there are caveats. Jerome played only 15 games last season before a high-grade calf strain ended his run, and over his career he has missed more games than he has played, 311 to 247. The Spurs are also loaded with guards and wings who needed minutes in July 2025: Fox, Dylan Harper, Castle, Champagnie, Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes.
So the exact role is unknowable. Maybe it never would have lined up cleanly.
But the broader point is hard to shake: this guy can hoop. He did it in Cleveland, and he’s doing it now in Memphis.
Watching him light it up for a division rival while San Antonio keeps searching for more reliable shooting makes the miss feel awfully familiar.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Upgrade Around Wembanyama
With injuries to Anthony Edwards and Jalen Williams changing the early-season landscape, the Spurs suddenly have a reason to think more aggressively about the kind of help they can add around Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio has already spent the early part of this build trying to surround its young centerpiece with better defense and more shooting, and two potential trade paths now sit in that lane: PJ Washington from Dallas or Royce ONeale from Charlotte.
Both ideas make sense on paper for a team trying to sharpen the fit around Wembanyama, but they would require the right timing, the right availability and the right approvals to move from speculation to reality. The Spurs are still very much in evaluation mode, yet situations like this can change quickly when a front office sees a chance to improve the roster without waiting for the bigger summer market. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Created Another Wild Spurs Moment In A Win Over Sacramento
Victor Wembanyama keeps finding ways to turn ordinary NBA moments into something only the Spurs could produce. In a win over Sacramento, play stopped when a ball wound up stuck on top of the backboard, and the 7-foot-4 rookie stepped in to help a referee retrieve it by using a stick to dislodge it. It was the kind of scene that says as much about Wembanyamas ridiculous reach as it does about how much attention every Spurs game now seems to command.
The basketball part mattered, too, and San Antonio backed up the quirky moment with a victory over the Kings. Afterward, Wembanyama pointed to the teams progress, a theme the Spurs have leaned into as they try to turn highlight-reel oddities into something more meaningful. For a young roster still learning how to win, even the strange interruptions can feel like part of the growing process. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs First-Round Pick Could Fix A Defensive Problem They Still Cant Solve
The Spurs used the 20th overall pick on Jayden Quaintance with an eye toward the kind of defensive versatility this roster still needs, but the rookies path to the court has been slowed from the start. Quaintance has been rehabbing a right knee injury since July, leaving San Antonio without a clear answer on when it might finally get a look at the player it drafted for that specific purpose.
For now, there is no confirmed return date, and the uncertainty is not just about the knee. Quaintance has had limited recent playing time, so even if the Spurs do get him back this season, the bigger question may be how quickly he can adjust to the NBA level. San Antonio has not ruled out a return this season, though the timeline could stretch as far as January 2027. [Read more 🡒]