The 2024-25 NBA regular season is upon us. Soon, all 30 teams will take to the hardwood and begin their campaigns for the championship, improvement or tanking. Because let’s be real, not every team has the same goal when a new season begins. The Spurs are one of many teams looking to take a step forward, but a title is not the in cards for San Antonio yet.
Fortunately, six months of excitement are being offered as an alternative. Victor Wembanyama is coming off an epic Rookie of the Year season; the once-maligned Chris Paul is now a brother-in-arms, and Devin Vassell is a prime candidate for a leap into the all-star stratosphere. There is a lot to be optimistic about ahead of the new season—and a few things to keep in mind.
Spurs finalize their regular season roster
The NBA deadline to finalize rosters is today, Monday 21, but teams don’t generally wait until the last minute to make these decisions. The Spurs’ roster has been pretty predictable for a while now.
They have a bunch of young players that they are still cultivating and the Silver and Black don’t give up on players quickly. Once it was clear no more trades were being made, it was easy to see how things would shake out.
Malachi Flynn, Jamaree Bouyea, and Brandon Boston were the final cuts after the team converted Riley Minix’s Exhibition 10 deal into the last two-way contract available. The other two players on two-way deals are David Duke Jr. and Harrison Ingram.
What fans should expect from the Spurs this season
All over social media, you see a large segment of Spurs Nation expressing one sentiment for the team—a wish, if you would: no more tanking. The premise of the request is controversial in itself because, as bad as last season was, the Spurs were not tanking. It’s easier to accuse your favorite team of tanking instead of dealing with the reality that they’re just bad, but that was the case.
Being a bad team is no longer the identity for San Antonio. Wembanyama has a year of NBA experience under his belt and Olympic exposure at the highest level. Devin Vassell will prove a lot of doubt wrong once he returns from injury—which, barring a setback, shouldn’t take long.
With Chris Paul at the helm, the offense will run smoother, the guys will get easier shots, and the team will win more games. If the effort shown in preseason is any indication of a new mentality, you’ll see an energized ball club that hustles on both sides of the floor. They won’t be the best shooting team in the league, but they’ll be improved, and their scrappy identity will lead to more victories.
Other basketball news
The New York Liberty of the WNBA won their first championship after defeating the Minnesota Lynx 3-2 in a best-of-five series. Jonquel Jones won Finals MVP after averaging 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The Liberty beat the Lynx after defeating head coach Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals.
The NBA regular season begins Tuesday, October 22, with a national TV doubleheader on TNT. The defending champion Boston Celtics will face their long-time rivals, the New York Knicks, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who find themselves matched up with LeBron James and the Lakers.
The San Antonio Spurs will play the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener on Thursday, October 24 at 6:30 pm CT. The game will be played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
