Devin Vassell detailed his anticipation for the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs have won at least 60 games in the regular season for the first time since 2016-17. They are the West's No. 2 seed as the NBA Playoffs begin this week, a point in the season the storied franchise has not appeared in since the pre-pandemic days.
No player that was on the Spurs' last playoff roster remains on the team today, but for sixth-year wing Devin Vassell - San Antonio's second-longest-tenured player behind seven-year man Keldon Johnson - the return to postseason basketball is meaningful.
"Me and KJ are super excited," said Vassell in media availability this week. "I mean, we've been talking about it over and over. Even we were talking about it this morning, but it's just good to be in this position, not only just for us, but for the community and for the fans that's been here and kind of been waiting.
"It's been long overdue, but we're here, and we're ready to go."
Johnson, who brings a steady dose of offense with 15 points per game over his career, was drafted near the bottom of the first round the year after the Spurs made their last playoff appearance. The two-way pest Vassell was selected a year later. Neither of them had enjoyed a winning record over a full season until this year.
That improvement is largely thanks to Victor Wembanyama emerging as one of the best players in the world, providing Spurs fans their first true taste of contention in the better part of a decade with another superstar big man leading the charge.
Ahead of their first-round matchup with the eight-seed Portland Trail Blazers, Vassell is remembering to keep his composure amid the uptick in intensity ... and after having not played in over a week.
"Feeling great, a week off feels great," he said. "We've got a lot of great work in, a lot of great practice, reps, watching film. I feel a little antsy, like I'm ready to play - I haven't not played for a week, it feels really weird. But you know, it's a good time off, everybody's healthy, feeling good, so ready to get this thing going."
The stakes are higher. The lights are a bit brighter. And the anticipation is clearly there for a roster yearning for playoff experience. That energy, however, isn't deterring the Spurs from their mindset going into the first round.
"Our plan is just to be the same, focus on us, and do the same stuff that we've been doing this past 82, 83 games that we played," Vassell said. "Nothing really changes for us..."
San Antonio hosts Portland in Game 1 on Sunday at 8 p.m. CT on NBC and Peacock.
