With the World Cup over two weeks ago, DNA of Sports is starting its traditional presentation, franchise by franchise, of the upcoming NBA season. Like every year, this takes the form of a countdown, from the teams expected at the bottom of the ranking to our favorite for the champion title. Today, we continue with the Spurswhich can once again become one of the attractions of the Great League.
Strengthened by the arrival of the highly anticipated Victor Wembanyama, first choice of the last Draft, Gregg Popovich’s men open a new chapter in their rich history, four years after their last participation in the playoffs. With “Wemby”, they are almost guaranteed to experience better days in the more or less long term, as the Frenchman seems able to transform them in all areas.
Nevertheless San Antonio is coming out of the third worst season in its history (22-60) and that the simple addition of a player will not be able to make the Texan franchise an immediate title contender, even the playoffs, or even the play-in, remaining a delicate objective.
This 2023/24 exercise will therefore serve to lay the foundations for his return to the top, hoping that Victor Wembanyama acclimatizes as he hopes to his new status as Super star in the United States and can count on the support of Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Tre Jones and others Devin Vassell or Zach Collins.
SUMMER MOVEMENTS
Arrivals: Victor Wembanyama, Cedi Osman, Reggie Bullock, Sidy Cissoko
Departures: Keita Bates-Diop, Romeo Langford, Gorgui Dieng
THE PLAYER TO FOLLOW: VICTOR WEMBANYAMA
Who other than Victor Wembanyama as a player to watch at Spurs next season? A true physical phenomenon, it is what we call a prospect generational, probably the most anticipated since LeBron James in the NBA. Unsurprisingly, the hype that surrounds him is insane, which actually pushed him to move away from it this summer, but we can also imagine that Gregg Popovich will be able to protect him from all the media agitation he will face in the coming months .
On the field, “Wemby” should in any case be used initially as a strong winger, alongside Zach Collins, and we are already wondering what his impact will be on this young team with obvious limitations, as as a piece around which the Texan project will be built and then developed.
The Rookie of the Year trophy is a great individual objective while, collectively, he dreams of reaching the playoffs as soon as he arrives in the league. Difficult of course, but not impossible.
Average age: 24.5 years
Payroll: $138 million (28th)
THE IDEAL SCENARIO
If everything goes well on the Texan side, Victor Wembanyama is taking full advantage of this offseason which he wanted to be very calm to better focus on his rookie year. With his already substantial professional experience, he has no trouble adapting to his role as a young person. franchise player and make several boxes.
In its wake, the Spurs quickly move away from the bottom of the Western Conference to settle in the Top 10 and above all stay there for a good part of the season, in order to hope for participation in the playin.
Alongside the French phenomenon, without competition for the title of Rookie of the Year, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and others take advantage of all the attraction he generates to gain efficiency and punish opposing defenses. Great locomotives for San Antonio, author of a 2023/24 campaign as satisfactory as it was surprising, and which is launching its reconstruction project in style. With very good prospects.
THE WORST SCENARIO
The “hype” was undoubtedly too strong for Victor Wembanyama, who ultimately blew hot and cold. Able to deliver some XXL performances which suggest his potential but also tasteless performances, facing opponents who constantly test him, he is logically ahead of Scoot Henderson in the race for the best rookie, “Wemby” not managing to raise the level of Spurs in the short term.
To make matters worse, his lieutenants (Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Tre Jones, Zach Collins, etc.) struggle to offer him space in attack and to play freely.
Upon arrival, San Antonio logically squats the last places in the West, far from the playoffs and even the “play-in”, and Gregg Popovich is experiencing a fifth consecutive season without playoffs…
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | ||||
| 15 – Blazers | 14 – Spurs | 13 – … | 12 – … | 11 – … |
| 10 – … | 9 – … | 8 – … | 7 – … | 6 – … |
| 5 – … | 4 – … | 3 – … | 2 – … | 1 – … |
| EAST CONFERENCE | ||||
| 15 – Hornets | 14 – … | 13 – … | 12 – … | 11 – … |
| 10 – … | 9 – … | 8 – … | 7 – … | 6 – … |
| 5 – … | 4 – … | 3 – … | 2 – … | 1 – … |
