Why The San Antonio Spurs Will Be A Nightmare For The NBA…

Why The San Antonio Spurs Will Be A Nightmare For The NBA…

15 to 20 years from now, the GOAT conversation is going to go like this. MJ, Braun, and Wendy, those are the three names that are going to come up in the GOAT conversation. Because if this man stays healthy, right, he’s going to be arguably the best defensive player we’ve ever seen. Everyone knows Victor Webyama is a freak of nature, a 7’5 cheat code who can dominate both ends of the floor. But if you think that’s the scariest thing about the Spurs right now, you’re missing the real problem. Because what’s coming this season in San Antonio might break basketball as we know it. Powerful jumper. Mitchell and Webyama, the Grim Reaper. We on the other end banks it in. The Spurs are seven and two. Let that sink in for a second. This is the same franchise that hadn’t even had a five-game winning streak since the 2021 season. The same roster that spent the last 3 years perfecting the art of losing, dropping at least five straight games 11 different times and going 78 and 168 in that stretch. But things are different in San Antonio now. For the first time in franchise history, the Spurs opened a season 5-0, led by Victor Wmanyama’s ridiculous averages of 24.3 points, 14 rebounds, and nearly four blocks per game. And here’s the wild part. They did it without former All-Star guard De’ar Fox, who was still recovering from a hamstring strain. Now Fox is back and the Spurs just hung 126 on the Pelicans and 121 on the Rockets in back-to-back games. They’re sitting fifth in the NBA in defensive rating and six in offensive rating. Their aggressive guard play, steady veteran presence, and WMBB’s inevitable dominance have them playing like a team that’s figured it out. And for some of these players, it’s been a long time coming. Remember, this is a franchise that lost 16 straight in 2023. then topped that with 18 consecutive losses the following season. That kind of stretch was unthinkable for a team that once defined consistency. Five championships, 22 straight playoff appearances, and 21 double-digit winning streaks in its 53 years in San Antonio. But on October 30, that all changed. With a win over the Miami Heat, the Spurs finally opened a season 5-0, a first in franchise history. And this new record belongs to a roster led by a 21-year-old unicorn surrounded by nine other players aged 25 or younger. None of whom have ever won even 35 games in a season. Guard Deon Vel summed it up best. Tired of losing. I’ve been here for a long time and it’s been a journey. Just tired of losing. You can feel that hunger across the roster. Vel’s floor spacing opens everything up for Wemby and the Spurs guards. And if defenses collapse on Victor, Vel’s more than capable of creating his own shot. And after carrying those pre-WBY squads, he’s thriving with less pressure and more purpose. Against the Pelicans, he dropped 16 points and was a team best plus 22. Forward Kell Johnson, the longest tenure Spur, is feeling it too. Feels good to be winning. Best feeling in the world. Now in his seventh season, Johnson has embraced a six-man role, trading volume for efficiency. His scoring’s down from those tank years, but his shot selection, energy in transition, and rebounding are the best they’ve been in years. And then there’s Julian Champeni. Quietly one of the best stories in this strong start. After a scorching game against the Rockets, where he had 22 points, shooting six of 13 from deep, Champenni has proved to be one of the best value contracts in the NBA. They’re coming quickly when he puts it down. That goes down for Champenny. It’s a Trey. At 6’8, he brings size, mobility, and shooting. Exactly what modern wings need. He’s not a lockown defender, but he’s far from a liability. His length lets him contest shots effectively. Champy’s versatility makes him plugandplay across multiple spots from shooting guard to small ball power forward. And most importantly, he gives the Spurs the outside shooting they’ve been desperate for. When We WBY gets doubleteamed, which is basically every possession now, Champi and Harrison Barnes are feasting on wideopen threes. Even with Fox back, Champi is going to keep making an impact because guys like him who can defend their position, space the floor, and do the dirty work are the glue that holds winning teams together. And speaking of Fox, the man made his season debut against the Pelicans. And it was everything you could have asked for. 24 points on nine of 14 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, a steal, no rust, and no hesitation. But here’s what reminded everyone why he’s a former Clutch Player of the Year winner. With 29 seconds left and the Pelicans making one last push, Fox buried a dagger floater to put the game away. Then he calmly knocked down two free throws to seal it. And that wasn’t even his best moment of the night. In the second quarter, Fox went on a personal 10 to zero run. He just took over the game for a stretch and reminded everyone what this offense has been missing. That connective spark, that dynamic, highlevel tempo changing creator who can bend defense is in a way nobody else on this roster can. Fox’s absence early in the season was noticeable. The Spurs halfcourt offense was missing that guy who could get a bucket when the shot clock was winding down or initiate offense with pace and purpose. Now he’s back and with Stefon Castle and Dylan Harper still developing, Fox gives San Antonio that proven closer they needed. Now let’s talk about Stefon Castle for a second. The reigning rookie of the year has been growing right before our eyes. Against the Rockets, 14 points and 13 assists. Against the Pelicans, 14 points and 14 assists. That’s backto- back doubles in the assist column. Castle’s no longer just cutting, spotting up, or filling lanes. He’s initiating offense. He’s seeking out contact. And that shift in mentality, combined with his size, defensive IQ, and versatility has turned him into the perfect connective piece between the Spurs shooters and their playmakers. Early in the season, Castle is averaging 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.4 assists. in that game. Castle with time and space and Shelly put it on a roll. Now with Fox back, he doesn’t need to carry as much of the scoring load, so he’s leaning into what he does best, setting up his teammates and making the right play. 13 assists against Houston, 14 against New Orleans. That’s elite vision and feel for a secondyear player. Now, if he can start consistently hitting spot up threes, he can become an elite guard in this league. Meanwhile, number two overall pick Dylan Harper had been putting on a show of his own before a calf strain sidelined him. His downhill pressure forces defenses to rotate, and his ability to read those rotations, knowing when to finish or when to kick shows a level of poise you rarely see from a rookie. The footwork’s clean, the handles strong against fullcourt pressure, and even coming off the bench, he was finding ways to impact games on both ends. With Fox, Harper, and Castle flanking Webama, the Spurs can shape shift between two big lineups and guard heavy sets, blending switchable defense with unpredictable offense. You can see the outline of something real. Rolls taking shape, chemistry forming, and a system coming together. all orbiting around one unguardable truth. WBY warps the floor on both ends merely by getting into the game. And that’s the scary part because when you look at this team and start projecting where they could be in a few months, you have to remember something important. WBY hasn’t even been that consistent yet. Sure, he opened the season with that monster 40point performance against Dallas, but since then he’s had some rough patches against the Rockets. He scored just four points in the first half on two for six shooting. Houston sent constant double teams at him, got physical with smaller defenders to pressure him when he put the ball on the floor and dared him to make quick decisions. Early in that game, WBY rushed. He forced passes. He turned the ball over. But in the second half, something seemed to click. He started showing more patience. Instead of trying to beat the double team immediately, he held the ball, let his teammates rotate and cut, then made the read, pass to the open man, put the ball on the floor and attack or shoot the jumper. Sound familiar? That’s what Joic does. That’s what all great playmaking bigs do. WBY finished that Rockets game with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Not a stat stuffing masterpiece, but a game where he seemed to figure it out on the fly and adjusted to what the defense was giving him. Against the Pelicans, 18 points and 18 rebounds, controlling the defensive glass and initiating the fast break. Even when his shots not falling, his size, timing, and rapidly improving handle let him chip away at defenses throughout the night. But if you actually watch the games, there’s still a ton of room to grow. The spacing around his postups can get sluggish sometimes. Those quick swing passes that elite offenses thrive on aren’t always there just yet. And that’s what makes this team terrifying. This roster is 7 and2 and they’re nowhere near close to their final form. The depth on this squad is legit, too. The Spurs are running 10 to 12 deep on any given night. Against the Pelicans, eight different players hit double figures. That’s the kind of balanced attack that makes you impossible to game plan for Fox. So and Kelly Olen are all back from injury and that gives head coach Mitch Johnson options the Spurs haven’t had in years. You want to go big with Wemby and Olen or Cornet? Done. You want to go small and fast with Fox, Castle, and Harper running the break? Easy. You need veteran presence and shooting from Harrison Barnes. He’s dropping 24 points on eight of 11 shooting like it’s nothing. Against Houston, Barnes went six of nine from three and hit the game dunk in the final seconds. against New Orleans. He chipped in 15 points on six of eight shooting, including three more triples. That kind of depth means the Spurs don’t need WBY to drop 40 every night. They can win when he has 18. They can win when Fox has an offshooting night. They can win because somebody different steps up every game. And that’s exactly what championship teams do. Now, let’s get back to Weby for a second because there’s something happening with his game that changes everything. After a transformative offseason, one that saw him train with Shaolin Monks in China to improve his balance and discipline, then later work with Jamal Crawford, Kevin Garnett, and Hakee Alajuan to sharpen his offensive game. The 21-year-old phenon came back looking different. Not just bigger, not just stronger, but more complete. He’s no longer just blocking shots, splashing threes, and dunking over smaller defenders. Now he’s hitting fadeaways from the elbow. He’s using up fakes to draw fouls. He’s bumping shoulders into defenders before detonating at the rim. He’s stepping back for threes with confidence of a seasoned perimeter scorer. Although his threes not dropping at the moment, the dribbling exhibitions that once felt like experiments have become routine. Behind the back escapes, crossovers into pull-ups, sequences that make crowds gasp and defenders stare at the scoreboard wondering what just happened. He’s tighter with the ball now. His reads are faster. His footwork’s smoother. His finish is more controlled. That deer on ice look he had as a rookie gone. Now when he catches, he drives. And it’s either a dish or a dunk. And in the post, you can see the fingerprints of Hakeean. The jab steps, the drop steps, the balanced pivots. This is Victor Webyama’s team now. Everything from how fast they play to how they defend starts and ends with him. The biggest shift in WebM’s game this year, he’s living inside. Just look at that shot distance data from his rookie year to last season to this season. Web is taking the highest share of his career from dunk, floater, paint, and mid-range zones and his lowest from outside. That shift inside is getting him to the line more than ever. He’s averaging eight free throw attempts per game, up from 5.2 as a rookie and 4.1 last season. more physicality, more pain touches, more pressure, and a much scarier version of Victor Webyama. Because when We Wii is spending more time inside, attacking the rim, and operating closer to the paint, defenses are forced to commit extra bodies to protect the most valuable real estate on the floor. And that extra attention opens the floor up in two key ways. First, when defenders collapse into Webyama’s area, it frees his teammates on the perimeter. Shooters get cleaner looks because the closeouts and rotations that normally bother them are being used to contain Wemi. And secondly, for San Antonio’s army of young athletic wings and guards, the chaos he creates inside leads to seams opening everywhere. Drives, kick outs, and back door cuts all become higher percentage plays because defenses are stuck in scramble mode. Victor Webyama doesn’t just draw with double teams. He draws defensive overreactions, and that’s his gravity. And on defense, he’s doing even more of what made him special last year, warping possessions with an 8-ft wingspan. He’s become a one-man ecosystem, dictating the game on the less glamorous end of the floor in ways few players can. Not only does Wem erase shots that shouldn’t be blockable, he alters possessions before they even begin. He makes even confident finishes second guessess themselves. sometimes just by being nearby. In his first year, he caught quite a few people by surprise, flying out of nowhere to swap shots that had no business being touched. By now, the league knows what’s too much ground to cover for a normal rim protector is just another block on the stat sheet for Victor. The way he creates space on offense, he closes it shut on defense. And once again, his teammates are the biggest beneficiaries. Spurs assistant coach Sha Sweeney has built a defensive system designed around disruption with long perimeter players like Castle, Champi, Sohan, Vel, and Johnson picking up early, chasing through actions instead of switching and funneling everything toward Wemby’s reach. The Spurs have turned the league’s most overused handoffs into traps, closing gaps before they even open. And WBY anchors it all. Deterrent and Destroyer rolled into one, giving everyone else permission to press higher, close out harder, and take risks, knowing the backline is secured. Because Victor’s defensive influence is so massive, his teammates get to play freer and more aggressive. The Spurs guards and wings don’t have to stay perfectly in position. They can hunt for deflections, jump passing lanes, or trap aggressively because they know Victor is behind them to erase mistakes. When a guard gamles for a steal and misses, the player they leave instantly becomes a lower percentage threat than usual because Wemby is already rotating over to clean it up. That safety net lets San Antonio play with boldness and creativity. Their press can be tighter, their rotations looser, their energy higher. So, not only does Victor’s presence reduce opponent efficiency, it also amplifies his teammates confidence. This team isn’t waiting on Webmanyama to become a superstar. They’re already playing like he’s their center of gravity. How does that not sound like bad news for the rest of the NBA? There’s a new maturity in WebM’s game now. A deeper understanding of timing, positioning, and patience. His body language, once cautious and learning, now carries the quiet assurance of a superstar who knows he belongs. And in many ways, that mirrors the Spurs transformation. The franchise that once defined patience is now moving with urgency. And it all stems from Webyama’s mindset. When he said he didn’t want to lose anymore, it wasn’t just a sound bite. It was a cultural shift. And it’s already producing tangible results. Victor Webyama is more than just the future. He’s the gravitational force changing San Antonio’s presence. Castle, Harper, Fox, Vel, Barnes, and Co., they’re all about to feast. And it’s not because they’re all elite yet. It’s because the floor is about to stretch wider than ever before. Are the Spurs legit contenders this year? Drop your take in the comments. And if you want more breakdowns like this, like, subscribe, and if you enjoy this video, check out one of these ones on your screen now.

The San Antonio Spurs are quietly building something terrifying — but it’s not just about Victor Wembanyama. In this video, we break down why the scariest thing about the Spurs isn’t Wemby’s freakish size or highlight-reel blocks… it’s how fast the entire organization is evolving around him.

The Spurs have returned to their roots — discipline, teamwork, and basketball IQ — while embracing a modern, positionless style built perfectly around Wembanyama’s unique skill set. With De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Dylan Harper and co stepping up as legitimate weapons, the Spurs suddenly look like a young dynasty in the making.

#VictorWembanyama #SanAntonioSpurs #NBA