The Spurs moved up from eighth to second in the draft order after the 2025 lottery, narrowly missing out on the opportunity to select Cooper Flagg but improving their prospects going into an important offseason.

After the event, General Manager Brian Wright and Head Coach Mitch Johnson talked to the media about it and showed a combination of caution and excitement about what getting to pick second means for the franchise.

“Shock, excitement — you feel all the emotions,” Wright said after being asked how he felt when it was announced that the franchise got the second pick. Johnson echoed his statement, saying that it was hard for him to follow the result initially, with so many teams moving up. “I knew we were in the top four. I didn’t know who we were there with. And that’s obviously the only goal, to get into the top four, making it to the commercial and see what happens. And we went down with a fighting chance with No. 2, but we are happy,” Johnson said, not hiding that the hope was to get the top pick and Flagg.

Both men were clearly ecstatic to have moved up but made sure not to raise the expectations for whoever prospect they end up selecting.

“I don’t think you want to put a timeline on it or unfair expectations,” Johnson said when asked if they expect the No. 2 pick to help out right away. “Everybody has a different, I guess, onboarding in this league. This league is not easy. But any time you have the ability to add someone with the caliber of talent we are looking at with the No. 2 pick, it’s someone who has high upside and a high floor, which you think would be a big part of what you have going moving forward.”

Wright was even more cautious when asked if they were expecting their pick to help immediately. “You’d think so. You know, always guys have to get out there and prove it and earn everything they get, but there are some really talented players at the top of the draft, so we are excited about what they may bring.”

Finally, both the executive and the coach made sure not to forget about the 14th pick, highlighting that they also consider it a good asset that could help them build a better roster.

“We were excited about having two lottery picks in this draft, it’s a deep draft, there’s a lot of good players, a lot of dynamic, versatile, different type of players. And so I think our group is always going to do their due diligence and look at two good young pieces to add to the group,” Johnson said.

“I think you’ll hear it in some of the conversations around this draft, that this is a deep draft,” Wright stated. “So we have a lot of work to do to kind of put it together, but in the early planning, we like the potential group that could be there.”

As Wright said, the Spurs have a lot of work ahead of them before the draft, but it’s clearly something they are looking forward to, as they continue to try to build a contender.

“We are excited to go forward. Great night for the organization, for the city, for the team.” It’s safe to say the Spurs’ fanbase feels the same way their general manager does.