Last season, the San Antonio Spurs finally came out the other side of their rebuild, making it all the way to the NBA Finals. They were still a young team. In the 2026-27 campaign, the standard should already be set.
For the last several seasons, pretty much since Kawhi Leonard left, the San Antonio Spurs have remained patient. They've tried experimenting, like when Jeremy Sochan played point guard, and they've allowed their young players to develop, but that runway is over.
Last season, the Spurs officially ended their rebuild, plowing through the Western Conference on the way to the NBA Finals. They've cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the entire NBA, and with that come expectations both on the team and on individual players.
This summer, the Spurs reinforced their depth. Having one of the best benches in the NBA doesn't mean a ton unless you plan on using it. If needed, expect Mitch Johnson to have his players on a short leash.
Spurs Are Built to Be Impatient
Now, there are two ways the Spurs can be "patient." The first, and the one the Spurs continue to employ, pertains to team building. A truly impatient team would have traded Dylan Harper or Stephon Castle for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant. The Spurs never had any interest in doing that.
However, when those young players make boneheaded plays or experience growing pains, the Spurs don't have to be immediately patient. At any given moment, Johnson can bench a player or two and hand a bigger role off to someone else.
The Spurs, with Devin Vassell, Tobias Harris, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and Carter Bryant, have more wing depth than anyone in the NBA. The team can simply play whoever has the hot hand at any given moment.
In years past, Johnson and Vassell were put into bigger roles than they probably should have, all in the name of development. As a result, the Spurs lost...a lot. Now that they have an actual winning roster, they can afford to hold players to a higher standard.
The days of Tre Jones being Victor Wembanyama's most effective teammate are long gone. Remember the tight leash Gregg Popovich had the early 2010s Spurs on? It's time to get back to that.
