DeMar DeRozan recently passed Tim Duncan in the All-Time scoring list, and should pass Dominique Wilkins and Oscar Robertson this season, if he’s not shut down by the tanking Kings. It’s not surprising to see one of the best scorers of his generation potentially cracking the top 15 next season, but what makes DeRozan’s story so interesting is how he got there.

DeMar famously shunned the three-point shot for most of his prime, just as his peers and the league in general embraced it. It was a conscious decision, as he told JJ Redick in a podcast appearance in 2020.

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“Somebody told me ‘you’re not going to last long if you don’t start shooting threes’,” DeRozan said. “Going into 2016, I said, ‘ No, you can’t tell me I have to shoot threes to be a good player.‘ DeRozan then said, ”It was just me being stubborn, trying to say I don’t have to shoot threes if I don’t want to.”

The stubbornness is what makes DeRozan such an interesting player. His accomplishments can’t be denied, as he’s a six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA player who led Raptors teams to the playoffs consistently. As mentioned, he’ll likely finish in the top 15 among scorers despite purposefully not using one of the more important tools in a high-volume offensive player’s arsenal for most of his career. He simply had his own idea of what kind of player he wanted to be and stuck to it.

Why bring up DeRozan after a dominant win against the Bucks? While taking the time to reflect on a former Spur’s career would be a worthwhile endeavor, this is, as most things Spurs-related these days, about Victor Wembanyama.

Wemby was good on Saturday, but it was one of those games in which he reminds everyone that he just doesn’t see himself as most others see him. Especially in the second half, he decided to handle the ball, attempt drives from the top of the arc against a set defense, throw alley-oop passes in the half-court, and generally act as a perimeter player.

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If this were the only game in which he acted this way, it could be dismissed as a young player being bored during a blowout, but Wemby does it a lot, and it often seems to come from a place of premeditated defiance. DeRozan has often talked about being a student of the game and loving the nuances of scoring, and appeared to see the three-pointer as a crutch he didn’t need. With Wemby, it seems the answer to why he doesn’t just finish plays instead of trying to initiate them is simpler: he probably doesn’t want others, and maybe even himself, to be convinced that he’s dominant on offense just because he’s tall.

Stubbornness is not a virtue, but there’s something admirable in refusing to conform just because it would be easier, in going for crossovers when everyone wants you to take jump hooks. Don’t get me wrong, pragmatically, it makes no sense, and if it costs the Spurs in the playoffs, he’ll need to adjust. But for now, it seems like something Wembanyama needs to do in his path to full realization of his abilities, so it’s best to put reason aside sometimes and just enjoy when he pulls off feats that no one his size should even attempt.

Takeaways

The DeRozan talk, along with a matchup against a team in limbo dealing with the impending end of an era, might give Spurs fans flashbacks to the bad times, but don’t panic! Those days are behind us. It will be great to see the survivors of those middling teams, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, finally reach the playoffs after dealing with adversity.

It’s no secret that everyone in this team likes each other but it’s still great to see little moments when they show it. Dylan Harper got the postgame interview with the Prime Video crew and Victor Wembanyama crashed it to hype him up, just like Keldon Johnson crashed Wemby’s interview a while ago. Is a new tradition starting?

Similarly, it was fun to see the bench’s reaction when Stephon Castle got the rebound he needed to get his triple-double. It wasn’t his first and it won’t be his last, but his teammates were really excited for it. The chemistry this group has not only on the court but off it seems special.

Remember when the Spurs were reportedly interested in Ryan Rollins in the offseason? He’s had a good year in Milwaukee, but really struggled against Castle’s defense and missed his seven three-point attempts. He’s clearly a solid player but it probably worked out better for both parties that he stayed with the Bucks, because there would have been no room for him in the rotation in San Antonio.

It was garbage time, but Carter Bryant had a couple of nice drives in the fourth. The first resulted in a short midrange jumper and the second in an assist to Luke Kornet. Bryant had no signs of a floor game during Summer League, so any progress he makes with the ball in his hands is noteworthy. It seems like he’s lost his spot in the rotation to Harrison Barnes, but no matter what, the Spurs will need him next year. Fortunately, there’s no rush for him to become an on-ball scorer or playmaker, but there might be more than just 3-and-D potential in the rookie.