Welcome to the Week in Review: a Monday feature that looks back at the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs, takes a look at the week ahead, and more. Enjoy!
Week 10: The Spurs continued to surprise
the NBA world by sweeping their Christmas miniseries against the Thunder, and despite a letdown loss to the Jazz to end the week and their 8-game win streak, they still had the league and media’s attention, reaching the top of some power rankings.
Week 11: 2-2 (25-10, 2nd in West)
101-113 loss vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Recap: The letdown from the Christmas high continued as the Spurs fell to a struggling but big Cavs team that had given them plenty of trouble earlier in their previous matchup, but it was ultimately a stagnant offense that let the Spurs down in what would become the trend of the week. Most notably, the first injury bug of the week bit Devin Vassell, who suddenly exited and re-entered the game but was diagnosed with a strained adductor afterwards. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.
134-132 win vs. New York Knicks
Recap: The Spurs got revenge for the NBA Cup Finals loss, but it wasn’t without drama. Victor Wembanyama was on a roll with 31 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes but was the next domino to fall with a scary looking knee hyper-extension (the good news is his MRI was clear and he should be back this week). They appeared doomed at that point while facing a 19-point deficit, but as recent years have shown, it’s not a Spurs home game vs. the Knicks without a big time, out-of-nowhere performance. This time, it was Julian Champagnie who broke the matrix by hitting a franchise-record 11 three-pointers to bring his team back and secure the wild victory.
123-113 win at Indiana Pacers
Recap: The Spurs were now down two starters, but likely no team has less sympathy for them that the Pacers, who went from a game away from a championship to missing Tyreese Haliburton for the season (among other injuries). It wasn’t always pretty, but the Spurs rode their coveted guard trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to victory. They combined for 65 points and 13 assists to keep their team comfortably (if not dominantly) ahead to avoid another potential letdown game and open 2026 with a win.
110-115 loss vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Recap: One night later back at home, the Spurs ran into another shorthanded team, but for the second Saturday in a row, they failed to take care of business against an inferior opponent at home. The fought back after a slow start got them down by as much as 15 in the second quarter, but despite having a chance to take the lead late, they failed, and Deni Avdija capped off a triple-double with a back-breaking three in the final minute to hand the Spurs their second loss of the week and third in five games.
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 1 (last week: 1)
OffRtg: 118.1 (6) DefRtg: 112.8 (8) NetRtg: +5.4 (7) Pace: 101.0 (16)
Victor Wembanyama avoided major damage to his knee in an awkward fall in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ win over the Knicks on Wednesday, but he’s missed the last two games and the Spurs have lost three of their last five.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs’ win over the Knicks was a 134-132 barn burner, featuring a franchise-record 11 3-pointers from Julian Champagnie and a huge put-back from Luke Kornet. But these last five games (113.5 points scored per 100 possessions) have still been their worst stretch of offense this season. Their loss to the Cavs last Monday (in which the entire team made only seven 3s) was the only time the Spurs have scored less than a point per possession, and their loss to the Blazers over the weekend was just the third time they’ve shot under 50% in the paint.
2. The good news is that the Spurs’ worst five-game stretch of offense isn’t all that bad. Their offense has been at its best with Devin Vassell on the floor, and he’s missed the last three games. They’ve still seen the league’s fourth biggest jump in points scored per 100 possessions, and they’ve scored 119.1 per 100 in De’Aaron Fox’s 602 minutes on the floor without Wembanyama.
3. With their win over the Knicks on Wednesday, the Spurs are 7-1 (not including the Emirates NBA Cup final) against the other six teams that have won at least 65% of their games this season. They’ve scored 124.1 points per 100 possessions over those eight games, even though three of them came against the No. 1 defense of the last 30 years. Seven Spurs have averaged at least 13 points against those other top-seven teams.Coming up: The Spurs’ one loss within the top seven in the league was to the Lakers (in L.A. and with Wembanyama) in early November. They avenged that in the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals, and meeting No. 3 will be Wednesday, when both teams will be playing the second half of back-to-backs. After that, the Spurs will embark on a tough, three-game trip that takes them through Boston, Minnesota and Oklahoma City.
Law Murray, The Athletic — 3 (last week: 2)
2026 resolution: Get Victor Wembanyama back up to 30 minutes
As exciting as the season has been for the Spurs, it has been one full of starts and stops for their best players. Victor Wembanyama had to begin the season without De’Aaron Fox, and right when Fox got healthy, Wembanyama had to miss a month with a calf injury. Wembanyama finally returned to the starting lineup, and the Spurs suffered back-to-back losses before Wembanyama injured his knee against the Knicks. San Antonio certainly hasn’t reached anything close to final form yet.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 2 (last week: 1)
Losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers have resulted in the Spurs dropping a spot in the NBA power rankings, but this group is currently dealing with some injury concerns.
Devin Vassell injured his left adductor in the loss against Cleveland, and then Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his left knee in the team’s big 134-132 win over the New York Knicks. The good news is that Wembanyama should be returning to the court this upcoming week, but the bad news is that Vassell is sidelined indefinitely with his left adductor strain.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the Spurs now that Vassell is out, as his production and shooting on the wing next to De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Wembanyama has been essential to their overall success.
Coming up: Tues. 1/6 at Memphis Grizzlies (15-20); Wed. 1/7 vs. Los Angeles Lakers (22-11); Sat. 1/10 at Boston Celtics (22-12); Sun. 1/11 at Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13)
Prediction: 2-2 — I’ll be honest: with their recent play, uncertainty on the injury front, and this daunting slate, this might be a generous prediction. The Spurs failed to take advantage of their rare three-game homestand, and now they’re back to traveling between in each game. And even though get two 2-day breaks this week, it’s offset by two back-to-backs with travel. The good news is Wemby is at least traveling to Memphis, so he should return soon. That being said, the game against the team with this best record in this slate might be their best bet at a win since the Lakers are going through some inner turmoil. Regardless, they need to find their offense again, or it will be a long week.
