Few teams have had as strong of a summer as the San Antonio Spurs, who have dramatically improved their talent around superstar Victor Wembanyama. That has been on full display at NBA Summer League, where rookies Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant have been showing out.
Carter Bryant being a complete menace on defense for 1 minute and 43 seconds: pic.twitter.com/d0ShjlQjjq
— Bala 💫 (@BalaPattySZN) July 11, 2025
During NBA Summer League, Spurs GM Brian Wright dropped an interesting nugget about his offseason goal for the team. He specifically mentioned that he targeted players who could help the Spurs defensively in the second unit.
Brian Wright says the main offseason emphasis was defense, especially when Wemby sits: pic.twitter.com/4v2XRX0w46
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) July 11, 2025
While the Spurs posted a terrific defense when Victor Wembanyama was on the floor, they were a trainwreck when he was off it.
That should change next season, with the addition of 7’1 behemoth Luke Kornet to anchor their second unit. He’ll be joined by other solid defensive players such as Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Harper, and Bryant.
Spurs have quietly crafted a defensive juggernaut to challenge OKC
Harper has the potential to be a good defender given his size and length, while Carter is known for his defensive versatility, motor, and athleticism. That was on display during his Summer League debut, with him seamlessly switching onto multiple players in one possession and then having a big chase-down block after initially getting beat.
He was also disruptive guarding the number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg. Being able to string together a second unit that features five good defensive players is a luxury, and that gives them mix-and-match potential.
De’Aaron Fox isn’t an elite defender but has good positional size at point guard, is lightning quick, and racks up plenty of steals. Stephon Castle showed the potential to be a lockdown defender who has the ability to guard one through three effectively.
Devin Vassell has taken a clear step back defensively but was a talented team defender in his first two seasons in the NBA. A smaller offensive workload could hopefully get his mind right defensively. Barnes isn’t a good defender, but at 6’8 and playing power forward, he isn’t as easy to exploit defensively as, say, a small guard.
Spurs can ride an elite defense to playoff matchup with the Thunder
All that is to say that San Antonio could craft a nine- or 10-man rotation that features few weak links. Then, of course, there’s Wembanyama, who has led the league in total blocks and blocks per game and should have won Defensive Player of the Year in both his first two seasons in the NBA.
Better perimeter defenders mean that he won’t have to clean up as many mistakes, and the Spurs could craft a suffocating defense around him. Teams are already wary of attacking him and may not even get the chance with San Antonio’s size and length.
They could theoretically trot out a closing lineup that features Fox, Castle, Vassell, Sochan, and Wembanyama, giving them more than enough offense to hang but defense too. Sochan is one of the best iso defenders in the NBA and can legitimately guard one through four and has even done so in the same game.
That would obviously come in handy in a seemingly inevitable playoff matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sochan could guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Castle could guard Jalen Williams, Fox might match up against Alex Caruso, Vassell on Lu Dort, and Wemby on Chet Holmgren.
There wouldn’t be any obvious weak points defensively, though the Spurs may need one of Castle or Sochan to improve as shooters to make that death lineup more viable.
Ultimately, Wright has done a great job of upgrading the Spurs second unit by stocking it with defensive players. If it’s as it appears on paper, then the Spurs could have a top-5 defense, which would almost guarantee them a trip to the playoffs next season.
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July 16, 2025 | 12:00 pm
