Devin Vassell‘s success with the Spurs has come in large part because of his willingness to change the role he saw himself filling from the team’s secondary star to one of its crucial role players, James Herbert writes for CBS Sports.
Vassell has been asked to fill different needs for the team since being drafted in 2020, much of which had to do with the transitional stage the Spurs were in. While he averaged the fewest points per game this season since the 2021/22 season, he has figured out how to be exactly what the team needs from him.
“I know my game,” Vassell said. “And I know I can get to my spot whenever I want to, I know I can get a shot whenever I want to. But for the betterment of the team, sometimes that’s not what you need.”
His teammates have been impressed with his adaptability and the way he’s rounded out his game. “(His impact) has more substantive value to it,” Julian Champagnie said.
We have more from the Spurs:
- De’Aaron Fox believes that this season offers him the next and last bucket list accolade for his trophy shelf, Tom Orsborn writes for the Express-News. “I’ve been All-NBA. I’ve been an All-Star,” he said. “The last thing I think that there is, is to win a championship. And I think we have a good shot at it.” He breaks down for Orsborn some of the matchups he expects to see from the Blazers in the first round.
- With the Spurs ready to take on the Blazers in Game 1 tonight, Victor Wembanyama is as ready as could be for his first taste of NBA playoff basketball, knowing full well the championship expectations that rest on his shoulders, Weiss writes. “This moment, it’s really what you work on all year, but also your whole career,” the Defensive Player of the Year favorite said. “We’re dreaming of the playoffs as kids before coming here.” Wembanyama called this the first truly high-stakes basketball he’s played since the 2024 Olympics.
- Mitch Johnson‘s path from star Washington state point guard to Stanford floor general to coaching in the NBA set the stage for his debut as the first San Antonio head coach not named Gregg Popovich since 1996, Jeff McDonald writes in a profile on Johnson for the San Antonio Express-News.
- A recent popular video showed former head coach Popovich at the Spurs facility. According to Keldon JohnsonPopovich has been monitoring the season and his former players closely, according to Jared Weiss at The Athletic. “He stays in touch. He texts me or calls me from time to time, probably every other day,” Johnson said, adding that he still gets tips on what he could be doing better from his former coach. “But at the same time, he’s very encouraging, telling me that he’s proud of me and things like that. I mean, he’s definitely still himself. He’s still sharp. He’s still very much Pop. He has not skipped a beat at all.”
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