For better or worse, the NBA season is relatively predictable. You'll have the occasional surprise story like what the Detroit Pistons are accomplishing and you never know when a mega-trade such as the one that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers might break, but by and large we know who the playoff teams are from the beginning of the season.
Considered a fringe play-in team coming into the season, the San Antonio Spurs have been far from what we expected. Every month seemingly brings its own new surprise which has been frustrating at times but hey, at least there's always something to talk about.
Preseason hype was shortly followed by heartbreak, individual success has rarely translated to wins as a team, some players have risen to award contention while others saw their campaigns cut short by injury. When all is said and done we're going to look back at this season as one of the strangest in recent memory. Here's how it all went down.
San Antonio Spurs up-and-down season is one of the weirdest ever seen
Spurs come into the '24-25 season as plucky Western Conference underdogs
Call me naive if you want, but I was among the fans who were cautiously optimistic about the Spurs'' playoff chances coming into the season. Victor Wembanyama was on a heater after a stellar Olympic showing, the Spurs had added the veteran Chris Paul - shoring up a major area of weakness - while continued improvement from Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and the addition of Stephon Castle rounded out a roster that was beginning to look like something.
San Antonio started 2-3, splitting a two-game series against the rival Houston Rockets while blowing out the Utah Jazz. Vic posted his first 5x5 game, and the offense, while still not proficient, at least looked competent under Paul's command.
There was clear room for improvement. Losses to Dallas, Houston, and Oklahoma City proved that the team had a long way to go before they could be considered contenders. But you could start to see something taking shape. After a brutal season last year, things were starting to look up. The feeling wouldn't last long.
Gregg Popovich suffers mild stroke in early November, removing him from the team
Following a workout at the Spurs facility, San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke on November 2nd, 2024. Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright of ESPN outlined exactly what happened in in detailed reporting with noteable commentary from acting head coach Mitch Johnson.
As he left his workout, staffers saw Pop stop in his tracks, grabbed the 76-year-old coach and immediately sat him down. "I couldn't see him but everybody was talking about how scary it was. Nobody really wanted to say anything," noted Johnson. "Nobody wanted to let us in and tell us what was really going on."
The unknown cause of Pop's abrupt absence would later be revealed as a mild stroke. He would remain away from the team for the foreseeable future and his absence cast a shadow over the team and organization that he had helped build into one of the most respected in professional sports.
Victor Wembanyama makes his case to be the next face of the NBA early in the season
After an up-and-down start to the season, Wembanyama found his groove in early November. The dominance we saw in the Olympics carried over to the NBA. The supernatural became expected. Highlights you didn't know were possible were a nightly occurrence. At just 20 years old, Vic was asserting his dominance over the league, and heaven help anyone who got in his way.
The lid he put on the rim by just existing was on a nightly expectation. A 24-point, 16-rebound, and 7-block performance against the Utah Jazz showed his two-way prowess. Just two days later, against the Sacramento Kings, he went 7-10 from deep. How are you supposed to guard a 7'3 demon when he's pulling up from 4 feet behind the arc? He was becoming unguardable.
Against the middling Washington Wizards, peak-Wemby was on full display. He went 10-13 from behind the arc, got everything he wanted at the rim, and looked like the best player on the planet. Our expectations for Wembanyama were higher than any other player in franchise history. He still found a way to exceed them.
Devin Vassell struggles to return to form after offseason surgery
For as good as he was playing, Wembanyama was enough to carry the Spurs to wins on a nightly basis. He needed help and the man many Spurs fans had to looked to be his running mate wasn't there to help.
After undergoing a second knee surgery in late June, Devin Vassell remained on the sidelines to start the season. He made his return to the Spurs in early November but came off the bench, seeming uncomfortable in the new role and unconfident in the reliable jump shot we had come to expect from the fifth-year pro.
A particularly brutal stretch of play in early December had Spurs fans ready to pull their hair out. Dev went 3-11 against the Pelicans, sprung back with a 9-16 showing at Portland, then the bottom fell out as he went 2-11 against Minnesota and posted a -30 game +/- rating, his worst of the season. The player many had looked at to be Vic's primary running mate was looking awfully expendable.
Wembanyama makes Christmas Day debut with statement game in Madison Square Garden
For the first time in almost ten years, the San Antonio Spurs finally graced our TVs this Christmas. Sure, they had the early slot against the Knicks, but it's Christmas in New York, and the Spurs are playing! For such a young team, being put on center-stage in one of the most famous arenas in the world means something. Vic wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by without making a statement.
.@wemby’s first Christmas Day game! 👏
42 PTS, 18 REB, 4 BLK, 4 AST
Vote Spurs 🌟 https://t.co/HneqEHixzX pic.twitter.com/MoVWsGJtyB
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 25, 2024
Light work for Wemby - a cool 42-points, 18-rebounds, four blocks and four assists. Sure the Spurs lost but look on the bright side, Vic was outstanding!
There are two ways you can look at the Spurs Christmas apperance. You can look at it as just another regular season game where Wemby was phenomenal but the Spurs supporting cast failed to rise to the moment. Or you can look at it as a sign of things to come. The days of the Spurs struggling to get noticed, struggling to get on national TV, and being left of the Christmas showcase are over.
Spurs reach new heights - showing out at All-Star weekend and acquiring a star point guard
Excitement around the Spurs season reached a high point in early February. In the span of just a few days San Antonio acquired a veteran point guard to stabilize their backcourt rotation and then saw their young stars show out at All-Star weekend.
First, the Spurs made one of the biggest trades in franchise history, sending a truckload of picks, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones out and getting De'Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin back. The rumor mill had picked up the noise coming out of Sacramento long before the trade went down, but that didn't do anything to diminish the excitement felt around Spurs Nation after the trade was announced.
Not long after Fox arrived in San Antonio, we were treated to Vic and CP3 making a (playful) mockery of the Skills Challenge, Stephon Castle showing out in the dunk contest, and Vic making his first of what should be many All-Star appearances.
Things were looking up for the Silver & Black. Vic was as stellar as ever, Fox added a clutch element that the team sorely needed, and Castle was continuing to grow into the star San Antonio hoped he could be. It was all systems go in south Texas. But - in a reoccurring theme for the season - it wasn't going to stay that way for long.
San Antonio looses two stars in a manner of weeks, shutting down any playoff aspirations
With Fox added to the mix, there were real playoff aspirations brewing in San Antonio. That all came to a crashing halt in the weeks from late February to early March.
On February 21st it was announced that Vic would miss the rest of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. For the non-medically inclined, it's better known as a blood clot. The Spurs brass remained bullish on his long-term outlook, but in the near term, he would have to go on blood thinners to clear the clot. You can't play basketball on blood thinners, and the Spurs were right to prioritize Vic's health over anything else. He was done for the season.
A few weeks later, on March 13th, more bad news hit San Antonio. De'Aaron Fox, the newly added star point guard, would undergo season-ending surgery on his pinky finger. This news was more expected. Fox had injured his hand in training camp but had played through the pain throughout the season.
With Wembanyama out, the Spurs' playoff chances were razor thin. Again, the Spurs made the long-term play, Fox went under the knife, and just like that, San Antonio's playoff hopes went up in smoke.
De'Aaron Fox and Wembanyama played all of five games together this season. The visions of fast break dunks, alley oo'ps, and balletic pick-and-roll partnerships would have to wait. Things were as bleak as they had ever been.
Stephon Castle shines as the last star standing in San Antonio
With Vic & Fox done for the season there was little left for Spurs fans to get excited about. Then Stephon Castle started to cook with gas.
Steph has been playing well all season, but he's taken it to another level since Fox went out. Over the last ten games, he's averaged 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. He leads all rookies in points scored, is fourth in assists, first in steals, and second among rookie guards in total rebounds. He's been the total package and should be a lock to give San Antonio back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners.
Stephon Castle being the 24-25 ROTY for 2 minutes and 8 seconds pic.twitter.com/roglWgA86e
— brodie (@twelvemixes) March 30, 2025
Perhaps the most exciting thing about Castle's explosive play over the last month has been how natural it has all looked. He rarely looks out of control or lost, he plays with pace and determination, his weaving and deceleration in the lane is a veteran level already, his bounce is extraordinary, his defense is smothering, he just looks like a future star, because he is.
It's been an absolute slog of a season. Every high has been met with a correspondingly crushing low. But everywhere you look across the roster you can see glimmers of greatness. And there's still a lottery pick to come! After a few years of brutal rebuilds, the future in San Antonio has never been brighter or more clear than it is today.