SAN ANTONIO — Ever since the Spurs last brought a championship to the Alamo City, fans have been craving that taste of a competitive team to watch in the winter.
The ten seasons since San Antonio last lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy see the team sporting a 421-378 record. But most of the losing has come since the start of the 2019-2020 campaign; since then, the Spurs have gone 143-246 and haven't tasted playoff action.
But you wouldn't be mistaken for sensing optimism ahead of the 2024-25 season. Expectations are high for 7-foot-3 star Victor Wembanyama heading into his sophomore season; the Spurs nabbed a couple of veterans to help with the young core's development; and Stephon Castle's preseason play has some wondering if the team can't win Rookie of the Year for a second straight season.
With tipoff of the regular season on the horizon, let's take a look back at the 2024 offseason.
Wemby's growth
The second the Spurs landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, locking down the generational talent that is Victor Wembanyama, fans in San Antonio felt a glimmer of hope again.
Going on to win Rookie of the Year while logging some historic stat lines and finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year race doesn't hurt those hopes, either. He finished his first NBA season averaging 21.4 points (tops among NBA rookies), 10.6 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
"You always want to reach new levels of performance," he said. "Personally that is how I feel."
One person that is more thrilled than anyone to have a player like Wembanyama is Head coach Gregg Popovich, even though he doesn't tend to wear his emotions on his sleeve.
At the Spurs Media Day, Coach Pop praised Wembanyama's improvement over the offseason, especially while playing for France at the Paris Olympics.
"Victor was great. He improved steadily throughout the Olympics and was very formidable," Popovich said.
Wembanyama spoke about his own goals and what he's been focusing on heading into his sophomore season wearing the Silver & Black.
"The more I grow into my career, the more I realize it's important to work on the fundamentals. There's a big emphasis that's been put on my game this summer, which is taking advantage of really simple situations," Wembanyama said.
Executives and coaches across the league continue to be high on Wembanyama's promise. Earlier this summer, he was the player most cited as their pick for most likely to be the NBA's best player in five years, when he'll barely be scraping his prime.
He's also as motivated as ever, having made a promise to the San Antonio Express-News when he and Team France lost the gold-medal game of the Paris Olympics a few months ago: "I'm learning, and I'm worried for the opponents in a couple of years." And though oddsmakers don't see the Spurs improving to the point of being in playoff contention this year -- most project they'll finish in the 35-win range -- Wembanyama is thinking well beyond that.
"Getting to the playoffs is something I've never done," he said. "Going to the NBA Finals is something I've never done. Winning a championship, it is all these steps."
He might be on a trajectory that has no limit, but San Antonians know very well that is only sustainable if he has a band of guys around him buying in. Keeping the core from last year was key, but grabbing a few veterans in Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes to mentor these young bucks will only help the growth of the entire team.
Acquisitions
There were a number of roster transactions that have taken place since the end of last season, but none more notable than the signing of future Hall of Fame Point Guard Chris Paul. Whether you call him CP3 or The Point God, Paul is now, most importantly, a San Antonio Spur.
He joins the Spurs after a stint as a quote-on-quote "journey man," having played for Golden State, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans before becoming a free agent on June 30.
Though he is on the back end of his career, Popovich has also discussed how Paul's experience will benefit the whole team.
"More than anything, he is going to be a great mentor for our young guys," he said. "You think about the people who came in when Timmy and Manu and Tony were here, they had good examples to look up to who had been in the league for a while. That's important to player's development. The players now have not really had that. Even Victor, obviously, he is super talented and that sort of thing, but he needs that also."
At Spurs Media Day, Paul spoke on the relationships he's already formed since signing with the team and how well the guys already mesh.
"I've known a lot of these guys for a long time. We had a team group chat started a month ago or whatnot. Aside from hoopin' and playing basketball, you spend a lot time with each other. It's a great group to be around and I can honestly say that and mean it," Paul said.
Expanding on Monday, Paul, who could be spotted coaching his teammates up on the sidelines during the preseason, said this season is about taking it one day at a time.
"I was telling some of the guys that we could come out and win our first game by a lot or we could come out and lose by a lot," he said. "It's a long season. You can never get too high or too low."
Another veteran added to the roster was Harrison Barnes, acquired via a three-team trade back in July.
Barnes, who won an NBA championship with Golden State in 2015, looks to bring much-needed experience to this young roster. But it isn't unbeknownst to him that this is a young team still striving to emerge from the rebuilding phase and return to the NBA's upper echelon.
"I think it starts with the commitment, knowing that, obviously, things aren't going to happen overnight," he said. "I think also it's that shared experience. I've said it before in years past, but you just can't fast-track experience."
Another notable acquisition was the hiring of new San Antonio play-by-play announcer Jacob Tobey. The hiring comes after Bill Land decided to hang up the headset after five decades in sports broadcasting.
Tobey comes to San Antonio after spending four years in Denver as the weekend sports anchor for 9News and says he's ready to "give 1,000% energy to being here, being invested in this team, the culture and the community."
Tobey is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, which is also known as the People of the First Light, and takes pride in his Native American heritage. To learn more about him, click here.
With Wembanyama somehow still improving his game and the acquisitions made this offseason, what are the expectations for this 2024-2025 Spurs team?
Expectations
The Western Conference is still full of star power heading into the 2024-25 campaign, and it has the capability to humble the Spurs even if the team doesn't lose 18 games in a row again. So the question remains: How much better will they be?
"You can tell everybody is on the same page," said 25-year-old Keldon Johnson, the Spurs' longest-tenured player, leading up to the start of their season. "Everybody is ready to go. Everybody is locked in and we are playing this season to win. We know that is our expectation and that is what we want."
Forward Jeremy Sochan offered some of his own honesty ahead of Thursday's season tipoff.
"It is gonna be a process," he said. "It is not going to be perfect from game one, but everyone is eager to listen and grow together."
If you're a fan, the expectation is always going to be that they're the last team standing at the end of the year. But what should determine any fan's expectations is what the guys in house are saying.
When asked what his own expectations would be for Wembanyama in year two, Coach Pop made sure to direct the attention on the team as a whole.
"I want everyone to get better. I have great expectations for every player, both individually and team-wise. We want them to improve in every area," Coach Pop said.
Wembanyama told the media he expects more winning this season after getting a year under their belts playing together and building chemistry.
"Last year, our expectations for ourselves was to, you know, to learn to know ourselves. And I think towards the end of the year, it really showed," the Spurs' 20-year-old star said. "But this year, we expect us to win."
This will be an interesting year for the San Antonio Spurs, but one that is worth watching.
The regular season kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 24, against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.
