San Antonio Spurs Last Season Performance.
In the past season, the Spurs showed an encouraging willingness to adapt when faced with unforeseen circumstances, which should give fans hope for the future. Too much happened during the 2021-22 season. That’s just the reality of rebuilding, with its unpredictable ups and downs determined by hundreds of factors. It’s also what makes last year so fascinating, if a little tricky, to review.
The predictable swings between the good and the bad were not only seen at the team level but also at the individual one. Two examples illustrate this best, one featuring a starter and the other a bench player. With DeMar DeRozan gone, Keldon Johnson had to figure out where he fits in the offense. At first, he tried to fill a big on-ball offensive role to poor results, before realizing he was still at his best on the weak side.
Lonnie Walker IV found himself on the opposite end of a similar predicament. Not until Derrick White was traded midway through the season could Lonnie get the touches and offensive freedom that fit his skill set the best. At different points those two looked like keepers or disappointments, depending on the circumstances.
The one defining facet of this season is not what happened but how the Spurs reacted to what happened. And that’s where we find that adaptability is what defined this year. The Spurs were never as monolithic as many observers painted them during their contending years, but they embraced change more slowly, often waiting until the offseason before pulling the trigger. To see that old desire to evolve be coupled with decisive action and on-the-fly adjustments has been great.
One of the highest points in the Spur’s season was Keldon Johnson’s 3-point shooting. It wasn’t that long ago that Keldon Johnson’s shot was a major concern among Spurs fans. That obviously changed, but the struggle was definitely real. Actually, during the first ten games of the season, Johnson hit just three of his first 22 3-point attempts, and it appeared as though his shot was completely broken. After the All-Star break, Johnson averaged a terrific 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
Also, the Derrick White trade was definitely a good move. The Spurs wisely traded White while his value was still high and got an excellent return for him. In addition to getting Boston’s 2022 first pick, they received a 2028 1st round pick swap, Romeo Langford, and Josh Richardson. That haul gives the Spurs an extra 1st round pick, the ability to potentially move up in a future draft, and Richardson, who was an effective White replacement.
Ultimately, had the Spurs not made the trade, they likely wouldn’t have made the Play-In Tournament. When taking into consideration the preseason expectations for White, it’s surprising that the Spurs were better off without him.
San Antonio Spurs Off-Season Changes.
The Spurs actually had some pretty good measurements across the board. They were about league-average defensively, and they finished 18th in offensive efficiency. They just couldn’t win close games.
Even though the Spurs did well with three of their four position groups, the first impression is they got worse. And it’s by design. The Spurs trading Murray signaled they were done trying to fight and claw for those wins and a chance at the postseason.
They made the right call to hit the reset button and start working toward the right combination of draft lottery ping-pong balls to land them Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson. That’s the goal of finding their next franchise guy.
Spurs fans probably just hope for close, interesting losses this coming season. If it ends with Wembanyama or Henderson wearing a Spurs jersey in 2023, it’ll all be worth it. If it doesn’t, they may still end up with a franchise player of the future, but it’ll be a little bittersweet to not get either of those two prospects. The last time the Spurs tanked/focused on rebuilding, they ended up with a dynasty. Maybe that’s too ambitious to expect again, but there will be hope at the end of that tunnel.
San Antonio Spurs Key Additions.
General Manager Brian Wright added seven rookies to the roster, brought back Gorgui Dieng in free agency, re-signed Joe Wieskamp, handed out a trio of Exhibit 10 deals, and snatched Isaiah Roby off the waiver wire.
The Spurs also signed Charles Bassey as a free agent on a two-way contract. Bassey, a second-round pick by the Sixers in 2021, averaged three points, 2.7 rebounds, and 7.3 minutes per game in 23 appearances last season. He saw action in three games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat in May.
San Antonio Spurs Key Subtractions.
The San Antonio Spurs finally pulled the trigger on a major rebuild, and it all started in the 2022 NBA off-season. The main ingredient of this Alamo rebuild recipe was no less than erstwhile San Antonio Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray.
He was traded, along with big man Jock Landale, to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Danilo Gallinari and multiple future first-round picks. Gallinari was eventually waived by the Spurs. They also lost Lonnie Walker IV, who averaged a career-high 12.1 points and 23 minutes per game last season, to the Lakers during free agency.
It is crystal clear that the Spurs are now rebuilding for the future. This was a long time coming, but the Spurs finally got around to committing to it full tilt. As such, the depth chart for San Antonio looks depleted. It now features forwards Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poetl as their top players, underscoring just how thin their roster is going into 2022.
San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Analysis.
Gregg Popovich is about to embark on his 27th season as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, but this year doesn’t bring as much hype as most, if not all, of his previous campaigns. Popovich’s Spurs are rebuilding, evidenced after the blockbuster trade this offseason to send All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for cap-filler Danilo Gallinari and three future first-round picks.
The Spurs aren’t contending for a championship anytime soon, so Popovich’s prime motivation stems from his love for his job. Arguably the greatest coach of all time, Popovich has earned the right to coach as long as he wishes. And it’s clear he enjoys the job otherwise he would have left a long time ago.
Nobody is better to lead the Spur’s rebuild than Popovich, but that also means that San Antonio will not be fighting for anything important this season. If these are Gregg’s last seasons as head coach, the Spurs and their rookies have to take everything they can from him so the rebuild is a success.
San Antonio Spurs Betting Predictions for the 2022-23 Season.
San Antonio is +100000 odds to win this year’s NBA Championship and at +60000 odds to win the Western Conference title. It’s more than clear that nobody believes in the Spurs and it’s near impossible for them to reach an NBA final.
San Antonio Spurs Team Leaders
San Antonio Spurs Team Ranked Stats
San Antonio Spurs Team Summary
San Antonio Spurs Team Injuries
San Antonio Spurs Team Schedule/Results
San Antonio Spurs Team Standings
San Antonio Spurs Team Roster
San Antonio Spurs FAQs
When was the last time the San Antonio Spurs made the playoffs?
The Spurs are undoubtedly one of the best and historic teams in NBA history. San Antonio made the playoffs consecutively since the 1997-98 season all the way up until the 2018-19 season. 22 years making the playoffs is a very impressive record, however, it came to an end 3 years ago and they’ve been absent ever since that last 18-19 postseason.
Do the San Antonio Spurs have a chance of winning the Western Conference title?
As mentioned before, the Spurs are at +60000 odds to win the Conference title, so it’s very unlikely that they’ll even reach the playoffs. San Antonio is a team that’s in the middle of a rebuild, so a Conference title is almost out of discussion.
Have the San Antonio Spurs won an NBA Championship?
The Spurs dominated the NBA in the early 2000’s thanks to the Duncan, Parker and Ginobili dynasty that led them to a total of 5 NBA titles (2002-03, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2012-13 and 2013-14).
Why are the San Antonio Spurs part of the NBA?
The Spurs are one of four former ABA teams to remain intact after the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. They were founded under this name in 1973 in the ABA and have been in the NBA since 1976, being the only ABA team to have won an NBA championship.
