The San Antonio Spurs have had eight lottery picks in the last six years, and nearly all of them have panned out.
In the last six seasons, the San Antonio Spurs have had eight lottery picks. As of late, Jeremy Sochan has fallen out of the rotation, so only he and Josh Primo can be considered disappointing.
Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, the Rob Dillingham trade that netted two draft picks, Dylan Harper, and now Carter Bryant have all met or exceeded expectations.
While the Spurs are still working to round out their roster around Victor Wembanyama, the "rebuild" is over, and the Spurs are back to contention. With Bryant starting to pick up some steam, the Spurs are even better now than they were at the start of the season.
Carter Bryant Has Started to Break Out
After being used sparingly in garbage time for the first 30-odd games of his career, Bryant has seen more playing time as of late, averaging 16 minutes of action in the last four games.
The Spurs are undefeated during that span.
Bryant's offense clearly is still a work in progress, evidenced by his 7.5 points per game on a rather ineffecioent 37.6% mark from the floor, but his defense and athleticism suggest that he can be a key piece for the Spurs moving forward. Plus, in limited attempts in his last four games, he has made half of his 3-pointers.
His teammates are excited to see what else he can do.
"He's been getting better and better," offered Victor Wembanyama. "It's just the beginning for him. I mean, he's got weapons that he can use, that can be used at any time in a basketball game, you know, so he can be a very valuable player."
"I thought he came in and set a tone physically with his physicality and just resistance on defense," added Mitch Johnson after the Spurs' most recent win over the Dallas Mavericks. "And again, when you have that approach, it's amazing. Next thing you know, you find a wide open shot because they left him open, and you get a couple of offensive rebounds, you get steals and blocks. And it can be contagious for his teammates, but I thought he flipped the game for us."
While Bryant isn't ready for a major or starting role just yet, it's clear that he's on the rise and can be a key piece for the Spurs moving forward.