The San Antonio Spurs’ 50th anniversary had many ups and downs. Although this was one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the 2022-2023 season started the Spurs’ rebuild and allowed many of their young players to showcase their skills and improve their game. The Spurs also set the NBA attendance record at the Alamodome in their January 14th matchup against the Warriors.
The Spurs had a 22-60 record on their way of being the second worst team in the NBA behind the Detroit Pistons. Although fans rarely see the Spurs struggle to the magnitude that they did this season, it should not have been a surprise. After trading away Dejounte Murray in the offseason to the Atlanta Hawks, the Spurs were all in on a rebuild. They were able to guarantee themselves a top seven pick in the upcoming draft that is filled with high-end talent such as Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson.
The Spurs saw their young players take a huge step in development. Devin Vassell missed more than half the season with a knee injury but still averaged a career high 18.5 points per game to go along 3.9 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game. Vassell improved offensively and was already one of the Spurs’ best defenders.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs in scoring after averaging a career high 22 points per game. His rebounding and efficiency numbers dropped from last year, but he was still an important part of the rebuilding team.
The Spurs saw all three of their 2022 first round draft picks perform well in their first season. Jeremy Sochan, the 9th pick, averaged 11 ppg and 5.3 rebounds per game in his rookie season. Sochan improved offensively from what he showed in college at Baylor and continued to impress on the defensive side. He was also named to the NBA’s All Rookie 2nd team.
Malaki Branham was a bright spot towards the end of the season for San Antonio. The 20th overall pick started in place of the injured Tre Jones and Devin Vassell for most of the second half of the season, averaging 10.2 ppg. He showed that he could be a knockdown shooter and playmaker as the starting point guard and with the possible departure of Tre Jones, Branham may be the starter next season.
Blake Wesley, the 25th pick, played most of his rookie season in the G-League with the Austin Spurs. He did play 37 games in San Antonio averaging 5 ppg and 2.7 apg. Wesley showed flashes of being in the rotation next year but still needs to work on his shooting percentages that were low for a point guard.
San Antonio made many moves during the season that had an impact on the team. The Spurs signed Sandro Mamukelashvili and Julian Champagnie who both played a handful of minutes toward the end of the season. They both showed promise as solid role players. Both are free agents this summer and it will be interesting to see if the Spurs bring them back.
The Spurs also made multiple trades during the season that saw them accumulate eight more draft picks. They traded Jakob Poeltl to the Raptors in exchange for a 1st round pick, two 2nd round picks and Khem Birch. They also traded Josh Richardson to the Pelicans for Devonte’ Graham and four 2nd round picks. Both Poeltl and Richardson were due to be free agents this upcoming offseason and the Spurs were able to pick up more draft capital and two solid players for them.
After a season of rebuilding, the Spurs guaranteed themselves a top seven draft pick and have the same odds as the Pistons and Rockets to win the 1st pick. Of course many teams including the Spurs were tanking this season in order to have the best odds to draft Victor Wembanyama who is not only projected as the 1st overall pick, but many people around the association believe him to be a franchise changing player. Even if the Spurs don’t win the draft lottery, their are still many other great prospects in this years draft including Scoot Henderson, Amen and Ausar Thompson and Brandon Miller.
Although it was a tough season for Spurs’ fans, there were many positives to the season. Many young players developed their skills and showed that this team is just a few players and a superstar away from being a contender once again. Of course this all starts in Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery where the Spurs have one of the best odds of landing the number one pick in the draft.
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Featured image courtesy of NBA.com.
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