San Antonio Spurs' Backup Center Ready for Opening Night

The San Antonio Spurs have already been bitten by the injury bug. Devin Vassell has already been ruled out for the first stretch of the season, and Stephon Castle missed out much of Summer League with a wrist injury.

It's not all doom and gloom in San Antonio. Backup center Charles Bassey, who missed 63 games with a torn ACL last season, is expected to be available for the opening night game against the Dallas Mavericks.

"Charles Bassey is in a progressive ramp up to live play and is expected to be available for San Antonio's season opener in Dallas," said the Spurs in a press release.

Bassey averaged 3.3 points, four rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 19 games for the Spurs last season. While his scoring leaves a lot to be desired, he is incredibly athletic and is an elite rebounder, especially for his position on the depth chart. He is also a solid defender who can hold down the paint when Victor Wembanyama is on the bench.

Bassey will likely be behind Zach Collins on the depth chart for much of the season, who also spent the summer recovering from surgery. In the last game of the season against the Detroit Pistons, he dislocated his shoulder and had a procedure done on his labrum.

Collins, unlike Bassey, has already been cleared for "full basketball activities."

Related: Devin Vassell's Injury to Rush Stephon Castle's Timeline

Collins and Bassey were reliable backups when healthy, and should see plenty of playing time this season. Center/forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could play alongside either of those players in a stretch-forward capacity.