This year’s rookie class is quickly endearing itself to Spurs fans, and perhaps none more so than 26th overall pick Tarris Reed. He clearly has the most personality of the bunch and has already produced several memorable moments. For example, as someone who is a weather nerd, I’ve always enjoyed when rookies (or anyone, really) arrives in San Antonio in the summer and is surprised by the heat. It happened with DeJuan Blair back in the day, and it happened again with Reed, who is already overwhelmed
by it and appeared exasperated when told it would only get worse.
Sorry, Tarris, but it’s true: this is just the beginning. South Texas summers are notoriously long, hot and humid. The average high will go up another 4-5 degrees (Fahrenheit) across the next few months, and there won’t be any relief until October at the earliest. You may have experienced heat waves growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, but it didn’t have the humidity mixed in for high heat indexes, where 95 degrees can feel like 110. Down here, it’s just a way of life.
Another moment that went viral was on draft night was Reed happened to have a Spurs teddy bear with him, which he said he got when he was 8-years-old while on the phone with someone (presumably Brian Wright or Mitch Johnson).
It was a cute moment (plus the mix-up of hats was funny — I get that it was initially Denver that drafted him, but where did the Boston hat come from?), and he got a chance to elaborate on it his first informal media session following summer league practice yesterday.
He was at Disney World in Orlando with his family (although now he’s saying he was 12 or 13), and they visited some NBA-themed restaurant, where he played the claw machine game and just so happened to win a Spurs teddy bear. He loved it at the time since this was still during the Big Three+Kawhi era, and he happened to notice it in his room when he was preparing for pre-draft workouts a decade later. That made him think how cool playing for the Spurs would be (although he wasn’t counting on it), but his mom still brought the bear to his draft viewing party. Then, low and behold, the Spurs traded up for him. It was as if density had been telling him its plan all along.
Reed isn’t the only player who has had his Spurs moments already. Jayden Quaintance managed to inadvertently make the entire room laugh at his introductory press conference when he said Tim Duncan was his grandfather’s favorite player, making everyone feel old. He was also seen letting his nerdy side out by trying to get Reed hooked on anime. (From David Robinson, to Duncan, Victor Wembanyama and now Quaintance, the Spurs tradition of picking nerdy big men continues.)
With this being the first time the Spurs weren’t in the lottery since 2019, this class’s arrival and getting around San Antonio has been a bit more subdued compared to recent years. However, they have certainly been enjoying themselves, from meeting legends to seeing the practice facility, Frost Bank Center, River Walk and more. If you want a behind-the-scenes view of all their draft night experiences, arrival and tour of San Antonio, check out this video from the Spurs. It’s sure to warm the heart (and provide some entertainment while we wait through what is proving to be a pretty boring free agency period so far, presumably while everyone waits for LeBron James to make a move).
