San Antonio Spurs fans are beginning to wake up to the game-changing truth about this team's current roster: that this team is positively loaded with above-average level talent, and is primed to [make a return to the playoffs](https://airalamo.com/spurs-could-leap-even-biggest-fans-dont-see-coming) come April 2026.
Let's think back for a second to the glory days of the previous era of Spurs basketball. It was less than a decade ago when San Antonio won 60 games in back-to-back seasons, including a franchise-record 67 in the 2015-16 season. That was a team that, from top to bottom, was littered with some of the best and most talented in the association at the time.
It was the final run for Tim Duncan, and it's safe to say the front office gave him an excellent supporting cast for his final go-around. That locker room in that season was home to Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard, All-NBA nominee LaMarcus Aldridge, a productive Tony Parker still averaging double figures in scoring, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, David West, Boris Diaw, Kyle Anderson, and even the fan favorite Jonathon Simmons.
The Spurs' roster depth is fantastic entering the season
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But after Leonard ended up leaving the organization two years later, the Spurs quickly saw the level of talent and experience on their roster drop off. It was only two seasons after that they finally ended [their decades-long postseason streak](https://airalamo.com/2020/08/17/san-antonio-spurs-history-best-moments-playoff-streak-1/) and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
Since then, Spurs fans had frankly grown accustomed to seeing their team trot out lineups devoid of top-level talent year in and year out. It was just the reality of team-building in the NBA. And even after Victor Wembanyama arrived in 2023, the rest of the roster didn't exactly start filling out from the start. It's been a slow process, but now we can all say we see that San Antonio is getting somewhere.
Drafting Stephon Castle in 2024, trading for De'Aaron Fox earlier this year and then landing the second overall pick in this past summer's draft have been the three biggest dominoes when it comes to getting top-level talent back on the Spurs' roster. It's clear now that San Antonio has enough above-average players on paper to make it back to the playoffs, even in a crowded Western Conference.
This is what the Spurs' fanbase has been waiting for. After years of having top talent and then seeing that reality slip away, fans had been itching to see this team return to its former glory. It now feels clear that San Antonio is in the perfect position to do just that.