The Summer League is a time for many things. It’s a time for young players to get a taste of what professional basketball is like. It’s a time for teams to evaluate what young talent they have their roster. Most importantly of all, it’s a time for growth. The Summer League, whether it be in
San Antonio Spurs
If it wasn’t clear before, it is now – the NBA is a year-round sport. Even though the season lasts up to nine months, we never seem to get a break from professional basketball. Honestly though, that’s probably because we don’t want one. The offseason gives us so much drama that it’s almost impossible to
The second round of the NBA Draft is always an exercise in annual insanity as players are stashed, traded and dumped, giving onlookers surprise selections around every corner. Understandably, the build-up to the draft tends to focus sharply on the lottery and those expected to make a major difference from their very first professional games.
Tony Parker, who’s been one of the top point guards in the NBA for the majority of the past 18 seasons, has announced his retirement. Tony Parker can now claim his spot on the Spurs Retirement Club. After 18 seasons, the future Hall of Fame point guard announced via The Undefeated he was retiring. “I’m going
Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are close to a deal that will see the 70-year-old coach return for the 2019-20 season. The San Antonio Spurs franchise is in a period of transition, but one thing is staying the same and that’s Gregg Popovich as head coach. Popovich is close to signing a new
The Nuggets made just enough plays down the stretch to hold off the Spurs in Game 7, moving on to face the Trail Blazers. It was an ugly, bricky Game 7 between the Nuggets and Spurs. No one made mistakes with the ball, the two teams combined for just 12 turnovers. But both teams shot
The Spurs survived a huge Game 6 from Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets again and force a Game 7. Facing elimination, the Spurs once again proved they could solve the Nuggets. Their 17-point win was a reminder of just how evenly this series has been played (on a macro scale) and that anything could
Working against a mathematical disadvantage, the Spurs couldn’t muster the offense to counter a beautiful performance from Nikol Jokić and the Nuggets in Game 5. After falling behind twice in its first playoff series since 2013, the Nuggets defeated the Spurs soundly to take a 3-2 series lead Tuesday night. While Denver holds just a
DENVER, CO – APRIL 16: Patty Mills (8) of the San Antonio Spurs defends Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets at mid court during the first half on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The Denver Nuggets hosted the San Antonio Spurs during game two of their first round NBA playoffs series at the Pepsi Center.
The San Antonio Spurs were led by Derrick White’s 36 points to put the Denver Nuggets, the second-seeded team in the Western Conference, in a deep hole they might not climb out of. There was no dramatic comeback this time, no moment of redemption for the Nuggets. Denver needed late-game heroics to win Game 2
SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 20: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets awaits the San Antonio Spurs before the first quarter on Saturday, April 20, 2019. The Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs faced off for game four of their first round NBA playoffs series at the At&T Center. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews
The first round of the NBA Playoffs provides infrequent upsets – especially since 2003 when the first round was extended to a best-of-seven series (from a best-of-five). Per the usual, this year has its share of favorites in the driver’s seat. For example, it’s a fair assumption that the Celtics, Rockets, Trailblazers and Bucks will
The first round of the NBA Playoffs provides infrequent upsets – especially since 2003 when the first round was extended to a best-of-seven series (from a best-of-five). Per the usual, this year has its share of favorites in the driver’s seat. For example, it’s a fair assumption that the Celtics, Rockets, Trailblazers and Bucks will
DENVER, CO – APRIL 13: Will Barton #5 of the Denver Nuggets goes to the basket against the San Antonio Spurs during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 13, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or
Last year in this space, we introduced a metric called Wins Above Age-Derived Expectation, or WAADE. It measures exactly what it sounds like: how many more wins an NBA team actually gets than you would have expected them to based on their minutes-weighted age. In introducing the metric, we highlighted several teams that stood out
Previewing the first-round series between the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs with shot charts, assist maps, offensive style charts and expected win probabilities. Shot charts The Denver Nuggets’ remarkable season has come on the backs of center-point Nikola Jokic leading them to the seventh-best offense in the league and veteran big man Paul Milsap
SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 10: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks cries before the game against the San Antonio Spurs on April 10, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the
DENVER, CO – APRIL 03: San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich yells at referee David Guthrie after Guthrie threw him out of the game in the first few minutes against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center April 03, 2019. (Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) The worst value deals
This — all of it — was unfamiliar for Derrick White, a player who wasn’t molded for the pros from a young age like so many today. Mock drafts were slotting him in the first round. NBA franchises leafed through his personal life and reached out to friends and family, inquiring about his character. Agents
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave a moving speech about Manu Ginobili during the player’s jersey retirement ceremony. Check it out here. Manu Ginobili was certainly one of the most electrifying basketball players to ever play the game, and his jersey was recently (and rightfully) retired by the San Antonio Spurs after a 116-110 win over
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, he’s revisiting the same discussion. This time with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
Back in early December, the Miami Heat were struggling. Erik Spoelstra’s squad had a record of 10-14 and was in the early throes a six-game Western Conference road trip. Worse yet, the Heat were beset by injuries. For the second game of the trip — a roadie against the Clippers in LA — Miami knew
If the NBA’s statistical revolution has illuminated anything, it’s the merits of intentional, refined shot selection. Teams have shifted away from the mid-range in favor of more efficient spots on the floor. Those that eschew that logic tend to struggle on offense with basic math working against them. The San Antonio Spurs, however, despite a
The Spurs arguably have the best coach in the NBA, but not even Gregg Popovich can get this team to the playoffs without Dejounte Murray. Dejounte Murray is one of the most talented players on the Spurs roster. Unfortunately, his torn ACL is going to keep him out of action for the entire 2018-19 season.
The San Antonio Spurs are shifting to a new era. Injuries to their youth are setting back their developmental opportunities, which may be good for Spurs. In 1997, the San Antonio Spurs dropped the interim tag on head coach Gregg Popovich. They drafted Tim Duncan first overall. From this point on, San Antonio won five
Remember when the consensus with the NBA Trade Deadline was that it was going to be pretty boring with more buyers than sellers? Those were some good times, because a lot has changed since then. Suddenly, the Grizzlies decided to end their golden age of basketball, Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks divorced and rumors are swirling
MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 03: Jabari Parker #2 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball during a preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on October 3, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the
The NBA transaction wire has been a quiet one this season. The early season trade of Jimmy Butler notwithstanding, there has been little movement outside of the occasional waiver claim or short-term contract. With the Feb. 7 trade deadline fast approaching on the horizon, however, that could change rather quickly. The rumor mill has already
The San Antonio Spurs are a good basketball team and for some reason, I am a little surprised by this. This organization has been one the most successful franchises of the past two decades. They have been blessed with at least two (Tim Duncan and David Robinson) and possibly as many as four Hall of
Third-year guard Bryn Forbes has become one of the best shooters in the NBA while occupying a bigger role on the San Antonio Spurs. Bryn Forbes is one of those classic San Antonio Spurs come-out-of-nowhere players. Forbes went undrafted in 2016 after a four-year collegiate career that saw him spend the first half at Cleveland