Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs went from rebuilding to team to be feared. Now comes the next test.
It's been 12 years since San Antonio last went honking downtown to celebrate an NBA championship, when Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and company brought the city its fifth title. Now, with a young cast of stars and a new coach at the reins, the Alamo City returns to the place where Fiesta colors, culture and community glow brightest.
How they got here
Teams don't go from missing the playoffs entirely one season to winning 60 games the next merely by luck. It requires not just great basketball players, but great basketball minds in the front office that puts the team together. You can throw Victor Wembanyama on the court all you want, but if the surrounding cast doesn't compliment his skills, it's back to the lottery year after year. Here are some of the savviest decisions the Spurs have made during the rebuild to help them break their six-year playoff drought with the second-best regular season record in the league.
2023 NBA DRAFT: ROUND 1, PICK 1 - VICTOR WEMBANYAMA
By the numbers
Anyone who watched the Spurs this season – especially down the stretch, when they torched opponents for a 30-4 mark in their last 34 games – will tell you they looked like an NBA team on a mission to prove the only preseason expectations that truly mattered were their own. Lucky for them, we don't just have the on-court flair to go by. The numbers back up their success. As the Silver & Black prepare to embark on their first playoffs in seven years – a number San Antonio will be more than happy to see return to 0 when they tip off against the Trail Blazers on Sunday – we're breaking down the key figures that defined what was a remarkable regular season.
SPURS NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS
1999: San Antonio over New York Knicks (4-1) 2003: San Antonio over New Jersey Nets (4-2) 2005: San Antonio over Detroit Pistons (4-3) 2007: San Antonio over Cleveland Cavaliers (4-0) 2014: San Antonio over Miami Heat (4-1)
The first-round opponent
San Antonio will play the Portland Trail Blazers when the Spurs take the court Sunday for their first postseason game in seven years. The matchup was solidified with Portland's comeback win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in the Play-In Tournament, an upset victory on the road that saw All-Star Deni Avdija pour in a season-high 41 points. The win cemented Portland as the No. 7 seed in their first playoffs trip since 2021. San Antonio went 2-1 against Portland in the regular season.
SPURS SEASON LEADERS
Points: Victor Wembanyama (25.0), De'Aaron Fox (18.6), Stephon Castle (16.7) Rebounds: Wembanyama (11.5), Luke Kornet (6.1), Julian Champagnie (5.8) Assists: Castle (7.4), Fox (6.2), Dylan Harper (3.9) Blocks: Wembanyama (3.1), Kornet (1.0), Champagnie (0.5) Steals: Fox (1.2), Castle (1.1), Wembanyama (1.0)
The biggest questions facing the Spurs ahead of the playoffs
The second-longest playoff drought in the NBA will officially be snapped when the Spurs play the Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Spurs fans have waited seven years for this moment, but like every team in the playoffs, there's several questions that have been asked regarding the Spurs' upcoming playoff run.
A city is all-in once more
The Spurs are practically inextricable from San Antonio's identity as a city. That sense of community has been on full display this week, from offers of complimentary coffee and breakfast tacos after playoffs victories to pop-up fan shops and official watch parties.
The casual fan's guide to the Spurs playoffs return
Listen, we get it. Maybe you're relatively new to San Antonio. Maybe you're a relatively new basketball fan. Maybe all the talk about free coffee and complimentary tacos has you ready to go honking after Spurs playoffs victories. And, uh, where exactly does that happen again? Whether you haven't watched much Spurs basketball or very many minutes of NBA basketball ever, you deserve to feel like a Silver & Black hoops diehard just as much as your car-flag-toting neighbors.
Photos: AP, KENS 5 Created by: David Lynch, KENS 5 Content: KENS 5 Staff