San Antonio Spurs Fantasy Basketball Season Recap

Previous team recaps: DET, IT WAS, PER, ACS

At a glance:

Record: 22-60 (14th, West)

Offensive rating: 109.3 (26th)

Defensive rating: 115.6 (21st)

Net rating: -6.4 (25th)

Pace: 101.80 (3rd)

2024 Draft Picks: 4, 8, 35.48

After getting lucky in the draft lottery and selecting Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the draft, the Spurs jumped from a bottom feeder to one of the most exciting teams in the league. Despite their poor record, they were forced to watch TV every night as Wemby put up incredible statistics and sometimes made the game look too easy. They now have two top-10 picks in the 2024 draft after the lottery reopened. The future is bright in San Antonio, and it won’t be long before they play in the postseason again.

However, this was not a successful season for Spurs. They had one of the worst records in the league despite their key players being healthy for most of the season. The experience with Jeremy Sochan as point guard was not at all pleasant. Keldon Johnson took a big step back and was moved to the bench. However, with Wemby in the team, that hardly seemed to matter. They also managed to finish strong by closing the year with wins in eight of their last 15 games.

San Antonio now has plenty of resources to build an elite team around Wemby. Some of the players currently on the team could be a part of the future, but with two top-10 picks this year and potentially four debuts next year, they have plenty of ammunition to make moves. While they can certainly take a patient approach, there will be plenty of rumors suggesting they need to make win-now moves immediately to keep Wemby happy. Regardless of which path they take, their future will be among the brightest in the league as Wemby becomes a star.

Fantasy Spotlight: Devin Vassell

Vassell continues to get better and better every year. After improving his scoring average by 6 to 7 points per game in each of his first three seasons, he took a leap in his efficiency last year. He averaged a career-high 19.5 points and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 47.2% from the floor, which was a huge improvement after shooting 43.9% during the season. 2022-23. Another improvement from the previous season was that Vassell played in 68 games despite missing the final eight games after San Antonio essentially ended the season.

He certainly had some poor performances, but for the most part, Vassell proved that he should be part of Spurs’ future and could be the third scoring option, or possibly even the second option, on an opposing team. He was one of the top 75 players in 9-tier leagues and certainly has room to continue to grow. Over the final three games of the season, Vassell averaged 26.3 points, 6.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.0 triples per game. These aren’t numbers he’ll maintain over an entire year, but he’ll continue to be an excellent fantasy option when he’s on the court. His Yahoo ADP last season was 70.4, but he will likely go early in next year’s drafts.

Costume Reveal: Victor Wembanyama

Expectations going into Wemby this season were astronomically high. It was simply unrealistic to expect this kid to arrive and dominate immediately before turning 20. Well, he ended up doing just that. According to Basketball Monster, Wemby was the sixth best player in 9-cat leagues with averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 3.6 blocks, 1. 8 triples and 3.7 turnovers, while shooting 46.7% from the floor and 79.6% from the line. As a newbie. This was an out-of-this-world production, and he only got better as the season went on.

The scary part is that this was his floor. This might be the worst season of his career. After the All-Star break, he averaged 23.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 4.5 blocks and 2.3 triples per game. Unreal numbers, and he will only get better with more experience and a better team around him. The Spurs have a lot of young players on their roster, but they went 22-60 for a reason. They will have the opportunity to improve quickly this summer, and if they can sign an elite point guard, things will be easier for Wembanyama.

For dynasty managers, let’s make something very clear. Wemby is by far the best player in dynasty formats. One could argue that he should be the first player drafted into revamped leagues, and he’s only 20 years old. We could be looking at a series of 10 to 15 years of total fantasy dominance. No matter the price, Wemby is a player worth negotiating for. If you have it, hold it dearly.

Fantasy Disappointment: Zach Collins

At the end of the 2022-23 season, Gregg Popovich talked about Collins as a starter last year. Even when they got lucky and got Wemby, Collins opened the year as the team’s first-choice centre, with Vic as a striker. However, this only lasted until early December. The magic that Collins had to close out the previous season simply didn’t translate. It was reduced to being a streaming option when Wemby were out of the lineup, which didn’t happen as often as many expected.

Collins’ ADP in Yahoo leagues got him drafted early in the 10th round, and there were times when he was ranked in the top 100. However, he only played 22.1 minutes per game and averaged 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 triples, all shutouts. from the previous season. There was a lot of hype surrounding Collins last season, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he gets called up to standard leagues next year.

Fantasy recaps/previews

Jeremy Sochan:

Popovich experienced starting last season with Sochan orchestrating the offense. The “Point Sochan” experiment certainly made headlines, but it didn’t end up being an effective strategy. However, it wasn’t something they maintained all season and this will help Sochan’s development in the long term. He ended up averaging 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game, and was more effective after Tre Jones took over at point guard, as his numbers improved slightly to 12.5 points. , 7.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Assists have obviously dropped, but his numbers have improved everywhere else. He hasn’t yet excelled in any individual category, but he still has a lot of upside. He will eventually be a dynamic player in fantasy basketball, although that may take a few more seasons.

Three Jones:

After beginning the season as a backup, Jones was placed in the starting unit in early January and ran the offense for the rest of the season. After providing top-100 value during the 2022-23 season, Jones’ numbers dropped last year. However, after returning to the starting unit, he averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 triples, which placed him outside the top 75 in leagues of 9 cats. Jones may not be the point guard of the future, but he’s a solid fantasy option when he starts, and he’s still just 24 years old. If he starts again next year, it would be worth a late pick. If he comes off the bench, there will likely be better options to look at.

Keldon Johnson:

Johnson got off to a strong start last season, averaging 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 triples through the first 26 games. This ranked him outside the top 75 worth 9 cats. However, just before Christmas he was pushed to the bench and took over as the team’s sixth man. His numbers dropped after relegation and he finished outside the top 125 in the 9-cat scoring. Johnson is still young and is more than capable as a scorer. However, if he is stuck in a backup role, his fantasy upside will be limited, especially since he typically doesn’t provide complete value.

Juliano Champagnie:

It was Champagnie who replaced Johnson on the starting unit, although the results didn’t mean much in fantasy basketball. In 59 games, Champagnie averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 triples per game. He had some important games during the silly season, but they came when most of the starters were absent due to injury. Champagnie could continue to play a role with the Spurs next season, but he is not a player to be considered in fantasy basketball.

Malaki Branham:

The Spurs selected Branham with the 20th pick in the 2022 draft, but his minutes and production dropped slightly in his second season in the league. He averaged 9.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 triples in 21.3 minutes per game, although he had some big games in April. He just turned 21, so the advantage is still there. He’s worth keeping in dynasty leagues, but he shouldn’t be on your draft board in retooled formats.

Unrestricted Free Agents: Cedi Osman

Restricted Free Agents: Sandro Mamukelashvili, Dominick Barlow, David Duke Jr.