Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs to a huge victory (Photo via X)
Well, damn, the San Antonio Spurs might just be ahead of schedule. Playing against a 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder squad, the Spurs escaped with a 111-109 victory that put the league on notice. With the win, San Antonio advanced to the championship of the NBA Cup against the New York Knicks.
The Spurs got down early but they battled back, exhibited great poise and beat a Thunder team that previously looked practically unbeatable. Wow, wow, wow.
Stats: Spurs vs. Thunder
spurs thunder grades
Spurs vs. Thunder – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
This was a good reminder of how amazing Wembanyama is at the sport of basketball. Coming off an injury and limited to just 21 minutes, the Frenchman was insanely impactful. It can’t be overstated how much he dominated the game during his time on the court. For example, the Spurs trailed by 16 points with 3:52 to go in the second quarter. Wembanyama entered the game and masterminded a 15-2 run to close the gap to three points by halftime. He singlehandedly thwarted the Thunder on the defensive end with outstanding interior defense, perimeter awareness and rebounding. On the other end, Wembanyama’s mix of aggression and skill was a sight to behold. San Antonio’s franchise player made big play after big play when it mattered most. While Wembanyama showed some rust in the form of turnovers, missed free throws and fatigue, he — simply put — looked like the most dominant player on the planet.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
I thought Fox had a great night. He acted as the steadying hand that this young team desperately needed. When things got tough, he was there to keep everything in line. Fox shot well from the perimeter, finished well at the basketball, took care of the ball and played an unselfish brand of basketball. I was also really impressed by his activity and tenacity on the defensive end. While a lot of his teammates played well, Fox was as valuable as anyone this side of Wembanyama.
Grade: A
Stephon Castle
The good: Castle was 9-for-16 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range. His finishing at the rim was out of this world. He got fouled a handful of times attacking the rim but didn’t let the lack of calls get to him … he just kept attacking and converting at a high level. Castle passed the ball well and pulled down important rebounds. Defensively, he was great on the perimeter. He was super intense yet super smart on that end of the court. The bad: Castle had issues with turnovers, to put it gently. He had some ill-advised passes and his handle could have been tighter.
Grade: A-
Devin Vassell
Vassell is another good guy who has to be very satisfied with how he played. In 32 minutes, Vassell totaled a team-high 23 points. His nine fourth quarter points were massive — especially his two three-pointers. All night long, it seemed like the more difficult and more important the shot he attempted, the better chance it had of going in. Against a dominant defense like the Thunder, having a tough-shot maker like Vassell was much needed. I also really liked his defensive play. He competed with vivacity and rose to the occasion on that end. Well done.
Grade: A
Harrison Barnes
Yikes. The Spurs somehow pulled out this game even though Barnes was 0-for-8 from three-point range. That goose egg was even worse than it seems because San Antonio’s gameplan was to have Barnes play away from the ball and make OKC pay for ignoring the weakside. But with the typically dependable veteran throwing up bricks, the task at hand got a lot more difficult. The silver lining for Barnes was that he kept his head up, passed the ball well and kept playing hard even though he couldn’t buy a shot from downtown.
Grade: D
Luke Kornet
Kornet, who can now say he started over Wembanyama, played decently well. His best work was on the boards. He also guarded the rim admirably and he was attentive to his help responsibilities. Offensively, he rarely found room to help the cause but he did a good job of not getting in the way.
Grade: B-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie’s statistics don’t look like anything too notable but I thought he played well. He confidently shot the ball whenever he was given a glimpse of the rim — and that made the Thunder account for him at all times. Defensively, he was locked into his responsibilities. Champagnie’s perimeter defense was better than normal. He was also impactful on the boards during his 27 minutes of action.
Grade: B
Dylan Harper
Harper’s raw numbers aren’t too aesthetically-pleasing. He was 2-for-8 from two-point range, 1-for-5 from three-point territory and 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. He turned it over three times, primarily due to issues handling the ball. He also had only one assist, as his playmaking wasn’t at a high level this evening. All that said, the rookie had his bright spots. Harper’s ability to break down the defense was impressive, even against stud defenders. Even more impressive was his defense. Not advertised as much of a defender, he guarded very well versus the defending champs. Harper found ways to chip in even when things weren’t going his way, which is another sign of the very good player he will soon become.
Grade: C+
Keldon Johnson
Johnson only played 14 minutes but his presence was felt. Rebounding-wise, Johnson was monstrous. He got loud contested rebounds that undoubtedly got OKC’s attention. He hit a three-pointer, kept his mistakes to a minimum and ran the court with purpose. Johnson’s defense was iffy at times, though — and that probably played the leading role in limiting his minutes.
Grade: B-
Mitch Johnson
Awesome stuff by Johnson. With Wembanyama on a minutes restriction, Johnson’s usage of him was perfect in hindsight. He wisely played him in the game’s most important stretches. The rotation on the whole was damn near perfect, too. The offensive and defensive gameplans were very smart. Johnson also deserves credit for stopping his team from cratering in the first half when OKC got going. All in all, this was one of the best coaching jobs of his career — if not the best.
Grade: A+