San Antonio Spurs 2024-25 Season Preview: Victor Wembanyama Teams Up With Chris Paul, Stephon Castle

[Editor’s note: The following article is from Athlon Sports’ 2024-25 NBA season preview magazine. Order your copy today .]

In 20-year-old superstar Victor Wembanyama, the team boasted one of the most must-see, made-for-TikTok, how-did-he-do-that young highlight-makers in the NBA. But the team Wembanyama headlined was one of the most dismal in the league. Despite the youngster’s unending supply of eyebrow-raising exploits, the Spurs failed to eclipse 22 victories for the second season in a row and turned in the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

With the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama back for an encore, the Spurs once again stand to be among the most-viewed teams in the NBA. Now, they hope the next act in the Wemby Show comes with a jump in the standings.

The Spurs’ decision-makers, including longtime head coach and president of basketball of operations Gregg Popovich and general manager Brian Wright, refuse to paint Wembanyama’s second NBA season as a matter of “playoffs or bust.” That said, there is acknowledgment that a third straight 60-loss campaign would be unacceptable.

To make that improvement, the Spurs are banking on growth from a callow cadre of holdovers that includes Wembanyama, 24-year-old shooting guard Devin Vassell, 21-year-old power forward Jeremy Sochan and 25-year-old swingman Keldon Johnson. Stephon Castle, the precocious 19-year-old guard the Spurs plucked from UConn’s NCAA championship team with the No. 4 pick in the draft, is expected to quickly join that future core.

The Spurs made a pair of moves in the offseason meant to prod the youth movement along, signing 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a one-year deal and landing 32-year-old forward Harrison Barnes from the Sacramento Kings via trade.

The Spurs’ fortunes, both now and in the future, rest with Wembanyama. If the young Frenchman makes a leap in his sophomore season, and if the other parts of the plan fall into place, the Spurs are optimistic they will finish 2024-25 closer to the playoffs than to another top-five draft pick.

FRONTCOURT

The Spurs spent the early part of last season trying to determine the best way to deploy their newest weapon. Wembanyama began his NBA career as the club’s starting power forward next to center Zach Collins. But it was only after Wembanyama moved to center at midseason that things really began to take off.

The shift was most detectable on defense, where from the center position he was tasked with defending the rim against opposing drivers. He did so with impunity. Wembanyama became the NBA’s first rookie to earn first-team All-Defensive honors since Tim Duncan in the 1997-98 season.

Wembanyama finished second to Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in the Defensive Player of the Year race but should be a favorite for that trophy for the next decade or more.

Sochan is the likely candidate to start at power forward after finishing last season there. Sochan has been something of an enigma since the Spurs selected him ninth overall in 2022, earning his keep as a dogged and versatile defender but still very much a work in progress on the offensive end.

Barnes slots as the team’s starting small forward, but he should see time at power forward as well. Barnes affords the Spurs’ roster something it didn’t have last season: a player who has won an NBA championship, something he accomplished with the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.

Collins will look for a bounce-back season as the No. 2 center after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. To help eat frontcourt minutes, the Spurs re-signed soon-to-be 24-year-old Charles Bassey, whose season ended with an ACL tear in December, and 25-year-old Sandro Mamukelashvili.

BACKCOURT

No position vexed the Spurs last season quite like point guard. Part of the conundrum was of their own making.

Preferring a bigger body in that spot, Popovich began the season experimenting with the 6-foot-8 Sochan there although he’d never played point guard at any level of basketball. When that gambit flamed out, the Spurs briefly handed the starting reins to now-21-year-old Malaki Branham, a move that didn’t quite take, either. At midseason, Popovich swung back to Tre Jones, the starter for 65 games the season before. Jones was predictably solid, but the Spurs entered the offseason looking to improve their outlook at the point guard position.

On the verge of 40, Paul is not the player he was 10 years ago, or even five. But with his reservoir of veteran know-how and ability to expertly navigate a pick-and-roll, the NBA’s active leader in assists automatically elevates the position in San Antonio. If nothing else, it should be entertaining to watch Paul create a next-gen iteration of Lob City with Wembanyama.

Vassell, the team’s starting shooting guard, is coming off a career season and could be primed to take another leap. The team’s longest-tenured player, Johnson struggled initially with a move to the bench but should be more comfortable in that role entering his sixth season.

Julian Champagnie, the starter at small forward for most of last season, likely will see a shift to the bench after the Spurs’ summertime moves.

With Paul on board, Jones will occupy a more natural role running the second unit. Castle, the point guard of the future, will likely begin his career as a backup shooting guard but should see plenty of time at both backcourt positions.

It stands to be a make-or-break season for Branham and Blake Wesley, a pair of combo guards drafted in the first round in 2022 who have yet to build an NBA niche.

FINAL ANALYSIS

From the day the Spurs won the 2023 draft lottery, their stated goal has been to construct a long and lasting dynasty around Wembanyama, the kind capable of winning multiple championships. That doesn’t happen overnight. Expect the Spurs to be significantly improved in Year 2 of the Wembanyama era. Whether that translates to a playoff berth — or even a play-in bid — in the loaded Western Conference remains to be seen.

SCOUTING THE SPURS

Anonymous takes from league insiders:

“Everything centers around Victor Wembanyama, and if he takes another step this year, watch out. ... Chris Paul is on his last legs, but it was a good signing. They want a coach on the floor for Wembanyama, and he’s likely the right man for that job. ... Harrison Barnes also gives them another veteran presence, and he’s been in a lot of winning situations. ... If you’re San Antonio, this is probably another year of experimentation with a lot of guys. ... I really liked the pick of Stephon Castle in the draft. He could come right in and prove to be a long-term complement to Wembanyama.”

OFFSEASON MOVES

Draft picks:

1. Stephon Castle (PG, 6-6, 215, UConn)

2. Juan Nuñez (PG, 6-4, 190, Ratiopharm Ulm, Germany)

3. Harrison Ingram (PF, 6-7, 230, North Carolina)

Castle helps raise the Spurs’ long-term ceiling as the team’s point guard of the future. Nuñez and Ingram will get some seasoning — Nuñez with Barcelona and Ingram with the G-League Austin Spurs.

Other newcomers:

The arrival of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes immediately raises the Spurs’ floor. Their leadership and experience should enrich the Spurs on and off the floor.

BEYOND THE ARC

Alien bookworm: When he is not finishing alley-oop dunks or swatting opponent’s shots into the bleachers, Victor Wembanyama loves to read. “I do it every day,” he says. “I don’t even think about doing it. I just want to do it.” Wembanyama lists science fiction authors Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan among his favorites. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Wembanyama prefers hard copies of books over anything digital. “It hurts my eyes a little bit when I spend too much time on the screen,” Wembanyama says.

Pop of ages: Head coach Gregg Popovich is set to begin his 29th season at the Spurs’ helm. At the time Popovich coached first game with the club — Dec. 10, 1996, against Phoenix — only two members of this season’s Spurs roster were yet born: Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes. Popovich, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last fall and turns 76 in January, is the NBA’s all-time leader in regular-season wins with 1,388. Don Nelson is second with 1,335.

King of the Castle: First-round draft pick Stephon Castle arrived in San Antonio with at least a bit of silver and black in his background. Castle’s father, Stacey, played college ball at Wake Forest — where he was briefly a teammate of future Spurs great Tim Duncan.

Related: Athlon Sports 2024-25 NBA Season Preview Magazine Now Available