Victor Wembanyama didn’t spend his offseason training alone in France. He brought a group of Spurs teammates with him, and the size of that gathering says plenty about how San Antonio views him.
According to the San Antonio Express News, seven of Wembanyama’s teammates joined him for workouts in France, with the Spurs’ account sharing a montage of the sessions. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, Carter Bryant, and Jordan McLaughlin were all part of the team workout, and newly signed veteran forward Tobias Harris also took part.
The trip lines up with what R.C. Buford told ESPN, as obtained by the San Antonio Express News, about Wembanyama’s influence inside the organization.
“The thing that you see about great leaders is very seldom do they resemble or match somebody else,” Buford said, per ESPN. “He's not trying to be anybody but himself.
He sets a great example in his approach, in the way he takes care of his body, the way he connects with his family and with his teammates. There are not many times where 10 guys from a team are flying halfway around the world to go work out together.
That's done because of the respect, admiration and joy that Victor brings.”
The early work comes after a season that ended in disappointment for San Antonio. The Spurs finished 62-20 and earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but their run ended with a five-game loss to New York in the 2026 NBA Finals.
That setback came after the organization reached its first NBA Finals appearance in 2014 by beating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games. Now the focus is on getting back to that level - and this time finishing the job.
In Other News...
Spurs Could Face A Brutal Devin Vassell Decision Soon
The Spurs are heading toward one of those good problems that can still get uncomfortable in a hurry. With Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper all due to push the payroll higher as their extensions and team control years stack up, San Antonio is staring at a future where keeping the core together gets much harder than building it in the first place. Devin Vassell sits right in the middle of that conversation as a proven, long-term piece whose value to the roster is obvious, but whose contract also adds to the financial squeeze.
What makes this delicate is the league's new reality, where teams have to plan years ahead just to avoid getting trapped by the second apron and the roster restrictions that come with it. San Antonio does not need to make a rushed move today, but the path forward will force some hard choices, whether that means trimming elsewhere, reshaping the depth chart or eventually deciding which veterans fit into the next financial tier. For a team with real ambition and a young core worth protecting, the margin for error is getting smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Stephon Castle Decision Could Shape Spurs' Long-Term Title Window
The latest debate around rookie extensions has a direct Spurs angle, because Stephon Castle is already being viewed as the kind of young cornerstone who could force a bigger financial decision down the line. ESPNs Bobby Marks recently pointed to a changing market for top picks and used Zaccharie Risachers move to Dallas as part of the backdrop, but San Antonios situation feels different with Castle developing inside a system built around patience, structure and long-range planning.
For the Spurs, the question is not just whether Castle earns a rookie max extension, but how that choice would fit into the broader salary-cap picture around a team that hopes to stay in title contention for years. Victor Wembanyama set a clear precedent for how the organization handles elite young talent, and Castles progression could determine whether San Antonio has to make some difficult roster math work sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face A Tough Question About Their Young Core
Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper are the kind of young pieces the Spurs are building around without much hesitation. Both are viewed as untouchable as San Antonio keeps shaping its future, and that gives the franchise a clear center of gravity as it looks to climb back into contention. Around them, the organization still has real flexibility, with draft capital and other players available to use if the right opportunity surfaces.
Stephon Castle sits in a more complicated spot, even as the expectation is that he stays put. His name comes up because he has value in a way most young players do not, and that matters for a team trying to balance patience with urgency. The Spurs are not short on assets, which means they have the kind of options that can change quickly if a big deal starts to make sense. [Read more 🡒]