San Antonio Spurs Set Lofty Goal Before NBA Season

If the theme of the 2023-24 NBA season for the San Antonio Spurs was "experimentation," then the theme for the upcoming season will be "growth." Last year, the Spurs tried to play Victor Wembanyama next to a center. They tried to have Keldon Johnson play a wing role in the starting lineup. They tried to start Jeremy Sochan at point guard.

Valuable lessons were learned, and now that the Spurs know what they have on their hands, expect them to take a massive leap. Wembanyama is ready to become an All-Star, if not an All-NBA player and the rest of the supporting cast that has played mediocre to downright bad basketball is ready to put all the pieces together.

While the Spurs as a whole are aiming to get better, their success starts and finishes with Wembanyama, who is clearly the face of the franchise, and perhaps the entire league moving forward.

"Victor’s only getting better," said Keldon Johnson. "We have a bright future ahead of us.”

Johnson might play a smaller role this season than he has in the past, but going into his sixth year, it appears that he has brushed off trade rumors and is ready to positively impact the team. He could be a solid scorer off the bench or can slot into the starting five. His versatility has remained underrated throughout his career.

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As for the end goal of the playoffs, the team is looking to keep things rather simple.

"Playoffs," said Devin Vassell. "That's all I see."

The Spurs will be playing in a loaded Western Conference , but questions surround the viability of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets. Depending on how rapidly the Spurs improve and how dramatically some teams ahead of them collapse, making the postseason is not an unrealistic expectation this season for the Silver and Black.