If there is one thing the NBA has taught teams over and over again, it is the importance of depth. Injuries happen (knock on wood). So it’s best to have a solid 10 to 12 players you can trust to varying degrees.
The San Antonio Spurs come into the 2025-26 season with a boatload of depth. They are bringing back every meaningful rotation player from their NBA Finals run last season, while adding veteran forward Tobias Harris and rookies Tarris Reed Jr. and Jayden Quaintance (whenever he is healthy enough
to play) to provide needed front-court depth. They should also be getting more from second-year players like Carter Bryant and Dylan Harper, the latter of whom could be on the brink of stardom.
One position where the Spurs are particularly loaded is on the wings. San Antonio brings back starting sharpshooters Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie, Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson, veteran Harrison Barnes, and Bryant, while adding Harris. That’s six players who are all nearly certain to factor into the rotation in some shape or form. How Mitch Johnson decides to manage their minutes becomes one of the most interesting questions coming into the season.
Exactly how each player factors in will probably be largely matchup-dependent, and based on how the team performs to start the season. But it’s the middle of August, and it’s fun to speculate… so let’s do it!
Potential starters
Devin Vassell
Vassell should be a lock to start alongside De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Victor Wembanyama. He provides something the starting lineup desperately needs: a wing shooter who can also put the ball on the floor and create his own shot. In many ways, he is the connective tissue that makes San Antonio’s semi-positionless starting lineup sing. His defense steadily improved as the season went on, particularly in the postseason. The Spurs were +6.4 better in net rating with Vassell on the court than when he was off of it. He was second on the team in minutes per game, playing 30.5 a night. All signs point to Vassell continuing to play a prominent role for the team next year.
Julian Champagnie
San Antonio extended Champagnie this offseason, signing him to a 3-year, $45M contract. It’s somewhat of a bargain for a starting floor-spacing wing on a Finals team. Champagnie shot 38.1% from deep last season, giving the Spurs the shooting injection they needed alongside Wembanyama at the four. The problem was that Champagnie is not a natural forward. That led to some awkward defensive matchups in the playoffs that burned the Spurs, particularly against the Knicks.
Champagnie is not well suited to bang inside with bigger wings and forwards. He’s much better at playing on the wings, where he can get into passing lanes and force turnovers off the ball. That defensive liability didn’t hurt the Spurs much in the regular season, so it’s hard to see San Antonio overreacting by making such a big adjustment to the starting lineup at the start of the season. Of course, diversity of talent is important here, too. The same five players don’t need to start, nor finish every game. If the Spurs play a team with a big and strong frontcourt, Champagnie could come off the bench for Harris to give the Spurs more size to match up.
The Spurs were undeniably better when Champagnie was on the floor last season. Their net rating was +8.5 better with Champagnie on the court than on the bench. That’s a big reason why Champagnie averaged 27.6 minutes per game last season. That’s right around where he should be this year – in the 25-27-minute range, either starting or being the first wing off the bench.
Tobias Harris
The high-profile offseason addition throws a real wrench into San Antonio’s rotation. Harris hasn’t come off the bench in a decade (the 2016-17 season). He brings a lot of skills that the Spurs need: another shooter who can also create his own shot, while holding his own defensively, particularly on the interior. His ability to create out of the post will give San Antonio another wrinkle in their offense to allow Wembanyama to roam in the dunker spot or space the floor from three. He’ll also be able to space off the ball in pick-and-roll action and attack a rotating defense on skip passes to the corner. His skill will allow the Spurs to diversify their offense in a meaningful way, which should help their efficiency tremendously.
Harris is not the same level of shooter as Champagnie. He knocked down 36.8% of his threes last year, and only 29.2% in the playoffs. The kinds of threes he will get are different, too, mostly feeding off kickouts and pick-and-pop opportunities, whereas Champagnie can knock down shots off movement in screening actions. Defensively, he is a bit more stout, giving San Antonio a desperately needed big body.
Again, if anything, Harris just gives the Spurs more diversity in their skill sets. Who starts and finishes is probably going to be matchup-dependent and riding the hot hand. It wouldn’t be surprising if Harris ended up playing more minutes than Champagnie this season if San Antonio goes with a veteran presence late in games. Harris is likely to be a major factor in the rotation whether he starts or not, and should play around 25 minutes per game.
Bench rotation
Keldon Johnson
Johnson is the hardest player to fit into the wing rotation, which is ironic given he had arguably the best season of his career last year. Johnson was exposed in the playoffs as teams overplayed his hard-driving offensive style of play and were able to keep him off the offensive glass. Johnson didn’t do enough defensively to warrant a ton of playing time, as he played just 17.9 minutes in the postseason.
But Johnson was the Sixth Man of the Year and has a claim to a prominent role this season. Harper is probably set to be San Antonio’s sixth man this season, with either Harris or Champagnie becoming the 7th man. Add in Luke Kornet as the backup center playing about 20 minutes a game, and the minutes for Johnson dwindle fast.
Johnson played 23.3 minutes per game last season. That’s probably going to drop this season to somewhere closer to 20, with Harris and Champagnie digging into his minutes, and Bryant nipping at his heels. Johnson settling into an energy role off the bench, helping push the pace in transition and playing hard on the boards, would be a nice niche for him to continue providing value in a reduced role.
Carter Bryant
Bryant should be set to take a big step forward in year two. After cutting his teeth fighting to be in the rotation last season, he should be in line for a consistent role this year. Bryant is arguably the team’s second-best perimeter defender behind Castle. That’s not the type of player that averages around 11 minutes a game, like Bryant did last year.
In his second season, Bryant should take over Barnes’ role as the backup forward this season, with the potential to earn more minutes if the season goes well. The biggest thing for Bryant’s development is to play with more confidence and composure. Too many times last season, Bryant would miss a read or be late to help – normal mistakes for a young player. But his combination of defensive versatility, athleticism, and shooting potential makes him a must-play this season, just to see what he can do.
Harrison Barnes
Barnes, unfortunately, is likely to be on the outside looking in of the rotation. After signing a 1-year $8M contract, Barnes seems more likely to act as a depth piece and veteran locker room leader this year. His role decreased more and more as the year went on last season, and he only played about 9 minutes a game in the postseason.
Barnes is a nice shooter who can put the ball on the deck a bit if the Spurs need more offense when players sit. He’s the exact kind of depth competing teams need. He won’t play every night, but when he does, he won’t make a negative impact.
