{"id":149956,"date":"2025-07-12T19:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T23:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=149956"},"modified":"2025-07-12T19:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T23:42:08","slug":"spurs-defense-set-to-be-unstoppable-with-carter-bryant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/12\/spurs-defense-set-to-be-unstoppable-with-carter-bryant\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs Defense Set To Be Unstoppable With Carter Bryant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spurs’ quest to become Summer League champions is underway, and they have already been making waves. The squad, led by roster hopefuls David Jones<\/a> and Riley Minix,<\/a> among others vying for their shot in the NBA, has performed valiantly thus far. On Saturday, the Spurs welcomed second overall pick, Dylan Harper<\/a>, into the fray. Harper was all the rage for the Spurs and quickly showed out for his team, showing everybody why he deserved to be the second overall pick. However, another Spurs rookie has caught the nation’s attention.<\/p>\n

With the 14th overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Spurs selected University of Arizona freshman<\/a> Carter Bryant<\/a>. The forward took some time getting acclimated in college, and it wasn’t until the latter half of the college basketball season that Bryant broke through. While his offensive consistency was not perfect, his impact on defense can not be denied. So far in the Summer League, this has been on full display.<\/p>\n

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Jul 10, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) reacts to a play against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first quarter of their game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spurs Defense Set To Be Unstoppable With Carter Bryant<\/h2>\n

Bryant Showed Out Against the Best in Summer League<\/h3>\n

Playing in all five of the Spurs Summer League games thus far, Bryant hasn’t knocked viewers’ socks off offensively. He has struggled to finish his opportunities and create for himself, even against weaker competition. However, fear not. What Bryant has done on the opposite side of the court has been otherworldly.<\/p>\n

Bryant’s impressive defensive masterclass has been highlighted by numerous blocks, steals, and moments where he stayed glued to the ball-handler. The rookie has been pestering on the court and is certainly frustrating every player he goes against.<\/p>\n

In a matchup against first overall pick Cooper Flagg<\/a>, the defensive menace was picking up full court and hustling for the entire 24 seconds. The offensive juggernaut Flagg struggled to get a shot off against Bryant and was forced to readjust. Showcasing his talents against a future superstar, it is clear that Bryant will be an impact defender from day one.<\/p>\n

The Spurs Can Craft a Dominant Defensive Unit<\/h3>\n

It is abundantly clear that head coach Mitch Johnson needs to maximize Bryant’s talent. Right off the bat, Bryant should get a spot in the Spurs rotation. Even in a crowded room, Bryant will stand out and deserves every chance to succeed. However, with the perimeter lockdown, the Spurs can form a deadly group.<\/p>\n

Spearheaded by perhaps the best defender in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, the options are endless for San Antonio. In particular, the Spurs can\u00a0utilize Wembanyama alongside Bryant and fellow strong defender Jeremy Sochan\u00a0<\/a>to form an unbreakable<\/span>\u00a0trio of defenders.<\/p>\n

In a league where the importance of defense has risen in recent years, the Spurs have the formula to do dangerous things in the Western Conference. Drafting Bryant was the catalyst for a Spurs defensive group that will wreak havoc in 2025-26. If Bryant can hit his ceiling and stay on the court with viable shooting, there is no reason he can’t become one of the most feared role players<\/a> in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Candice Ward-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Spurs’ quest to become Summer League champions is underway, and they have already been making waves. The squad, led by roster hopefuls David Jones and Riley Minix, among others vying for their shot in the NBA, has performed valiantly thus far. On Saturday, the Spurs welcomed second overall pick, Dylan Harper, into the fray. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5553,"featured_media":149959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,3,34],"tags":[50193,50119,49668,1224,4669],"class_list":["post-149956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-spurs","tag-2025-nba-summer-league","tag-carter-bryant","tag-dylan-harper","tag-nba-summer-league","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149956"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149962,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149956\/revisions\/149962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}