Jayden Quaintance, picked 20th overall by the San Antonio Spurs, has some very real injury concerns. General manager Brian Wright took the time to address them after the selection was made.
The San Antonio Spurs added Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance with the 20th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Quaintance is a big, physical power forward who should slot into the rotation as a key player on day one and has very real upside as a starter long-term.
Of course, there's a reason he fell to 20th. He has very real injury concerns, with lingering knee issues from his time in college. In his second season, he played in only four games.
However, in his freshman season at Arizona State, as the youngest college player in the country, he averaged 4.9 points and 7.9 rebounds as one of the best defenders in the Big 12. If that's the version of Quaintance that the Spurs got, then they have the steal of the draft on their hands.
General manager Brian Wright is confident that they can overcome the knee injuries.
Spurs Aren't Worried About Quaintance's Injury
Despite what Kawhi Leonard might say, the Spurs have long had one of the best medical staffs in the NBA. Quaintance did a pre-draft workout in San Antonio, and while he couldn't complete all of the drills, he left a big enough impression.
"We do our homework," summed up Wright after the first round. "And we've got a great medical team that's very thorough in their analysis and process. And we spent time with his representatives going through where he is in his rehabilitation process and what the options are. And we got comfortable about what that looks like today and then the long-term prognosis as well."
If Quaintance were healthy, he might be given the starting nod to open the season, depending on how productive the Summer League was. However, he could undergo a knee surgery that would keep him out for another six months, limiting the progress he can make this summer.
While missing summer workouts isn't exactly ideal, the Spurs have the time to be patient with him, especially considering the free agent options they have this offseason.
The Spurs, to their credit, already got their eyes on him before making the pick.
"He came in and visited," Wright added. "So our doctors had spent some time, but we'll get the people much smarter than us to take a look and come up with the best plan for him. And if that is the best plan for him, then we will do that and take a very long-term approach. He's got tremendous, tremendous talent. And unfortunately, that was cut short a little bit due to injury. But had it not been, maybe we wouldn't have had the opportunity to draft him. So I think, again, we do our due diligence to the best of our ability, and we feel good about where he is."
