No matter how successful the San Antonio Spurs are, they’ve yet to be seen as one of the NBA’s exhilarating teams. That may all be about to change now. Their moves over the past couple of years have transformed a graying franchise, the Spurs now rostering a sleek and modern team that lights up fan’s faces like the trees on the Riverwalk.
With that being said, heading into the 2025-26 season, San Antonio has a few questions they need to answer.
3 Burning Questions For Spurs Heading Into 2025-26 Season
What’s In Store For Year 3 Wemby?
Nobody thought that Spurs center Victor Wembanyama would have his second season cut short. But after 46 contests in which he averaged 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, the phenom Frenchman was ruled out for the remainder of 2024-25 due to a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis.
After undergoing a springtime surgery to address the issue, he’s expected to make a full recovery. Maybe that’s expected given that he’s 21 years old, as well as a self-described non-drinker and non-smoker. Nonetheless, the seriousness of blood clotting issues makes it worth keeping an eye on. It’s better to be safe than sorry, after all.
In an ideal world, Wembanyama will return to his dominant ways once the season begins. With his length, fluidity and guard skills, he remains one of the league’s best mismatches. However, last season saw him take 8.8 three-point attempts per game, converting 35.7 percent of those attempts. If he’s going to continue taking 3s at such a high rate, the hope will be that his touch is a tad bit better.
Given his lean 7-foot-3 frame, improving his physical strength is important as well, as it will help him at both ends.
Is The De’Aaron Fox Experiment Going To Work?
In a sudden turn of events, De’Aaron Fox requested a trade from the Sacramento Kings after they dismissed Mike Brown as head coach. On top of that, the Texas native already had San Antonio as his predetermined trade destination. As a result of the leverage his impending free agent status provided, he was able to finagle his way to the Spurs, providing Wembanyama with an All-Star sidekick in the prime of his career.
Thus far, the experiment hasn’t gone as expected.
In the 17 games he’s played with San Antonio, Fox has averaged 19.7 points and 6.8 assists per contest but with uncharacteristic inefficiency. Not only has he knocked down just 27.4 percent of his 3s, he’s shot 44.6 percent from the floor. Finishing around the rim became a real problem for him. In a vacuum, his field goal percentage is fine as is. Nonetheless, it would be a career-low for him.
With Fox undergoing surgery to repair a damaged left pinkie, perhaps the lefty will look more like his star self next season.
Will The Guard Rotation Work?
Fox has to develop chemistry with not only Wembanyama now, but multiple guards. This summer, the Spurs drafted Dylan Harper with the second overall pick. 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle has established himself as a cornerstone player. Not to be forgotten is Devin Vassell, who’s been an upper-end starter for the past three seasons.
To be frank, this might not be an ideal scenario. Not only is there positional overlap, three of them –Fox, Harper, and Castle –are better as on-ball, downhill scorers. Castle and Harper, both 6-foot-6, have enough size to play on the wings. Yet, the viability of them playing together could come down to how many of them can make defenses respect their 3-ball.
With that in mind, Fox is a career 33.0 percent 3-point shooter. Castle shot 28.5 percent from 3 in 2024-25 after shooting 26.7 percent from 3 at UConn. Harper shot 33.0 percent from 3 at Rutgers and 12.5 percent from 3 in the Las Vegas Summer League. It’s always possible that they can improve upon these numbers, but that picture isn’t pretty as is.
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