At Thanksgiving, the Spurs are fifth in the West with a 12-5 record despite some bad injury luck. They turned a surprisingly good start into sustained success even while having to deal with multiple moving
pieces, and have gone 4-1 in the last five games, which Victor Wembanyama has missed. They seem to be a legitimately good team.
There are many reasons for their good play, from Wembanyama emerging as a superstar to De’Aaron Fox’s stellar performances of late. A good way to narrow things that is to focus on a few numbers that explain their identity and strengths.
52.3 – Total rebound percentage
At the time of writing this, the Spurs rank fourth in the league in rebound percentage. Yes, despite missing the league leader in rebounding, Victor Wembanyama, for the past five games.
San Antonio, despite scoring efficiently, ranks 12th in offensive rebound percentage at 32.2 percent, which means that even when they miss, they keep the possession alive around a third of the time. Two players are largely responsible for keeping the Spurs solid on the offensive boards: Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson. Kornet was a beast at rebounding misses last season and at one point, only trailed Steven Adams in the category. He’s not been as prolific lately but should improve when Wembanyama returns. Johnson, meanwhile, ranks 45th in the league in offensive boards per game, filling the role Jeremy Sochan had last season as a designated glass crasher.
On the other end, the Spurs rank sixth in defensive rebound percentage, recovering 71 percent of opponent misses. San Antonio used to emphasise defensive rebounding but really struggled in recent years, ranking in the bottom third of the league. The turnaround has been terrific and has been spearheaded by Victor Wembanyama, who leads the league in defensive rebounds per game. They also rank ninth in opponent second-chance points. Unsurprisingly, in the past five games, which Wemby has missed, they have not been nearly as good, but they are still better at it than 16 other teams.
11.5 – Opponent attempts from midrange
For years, one of the staples of the Spurs was trying to coerce opponents into taking midrange jumpers instead of more efficient shots. The trend continues this season.
The Spurs allow the most midrange jumpers in the league by a decent margin. Opponents shoot a respectable 41.8 percent on those looks, but that’s a very low points per possession outcome, especially considering those shots don’t often result in fouls. Every time San Antonio gets them to pull the trigger, it’s a win because it means field goal attempts are not coming from more efficient spots. And the interior defense does the rest.
San Antonio allows the 10 fewest shots at the rim and the lowest field goal percentage, which is not surprising since they have Victor Wembanyama. They also allow the fifth fewest shots in the paint outside of the restricted area and the second fewest points in the paint, behind only the Thunder. They do allow a fair amount of threes and have been unlucky with how effective opponents have been at converting those looks, but the shot profile from teams facing the Spurs shows that the Silver and Black turn them into jump shooters.
The number of midrange shots allowed might seem like a minor factor, but it shows a continuity of identity from the Spurs as a team that is good at dictating which shots it wants opponents to take.
6.6 – Fastbreak points differential
The Spurs rank 10th in fastbreak points. The surprising thing about the stat is that the Spurs are a slow team, ranking 26th in pace. The explanation for it is that they are either going for quick buckets immediately (eighth in points made with the shot clock between 24-22 seconds) or slowing down if a good look is not there, which brings down their pace.
Their success on the break makes sense, given their personnel. They have speedsters who can advance the ball and are comfortable attacking the rim, especially after steals. The Spurs should continue to hunt those quick buckets, especially with Wembanyama out, because they are going to be huge to make up for a likely deficit in three-point shooting.
The other aspect that creates the positive differential is arguably more interesting. The Spurs allow the fewest fastbreak points in the league despite ranking 21st in turnover percentage. It’s a curious situation, as opponents take the longest to shoot after a turnover against the Spurs in the entire league and post the fifth-lowest effective field goal percentage, according to Inpredictable. Off steals in particular, opponents have scored the third-fewest points and have posted the third-lowest effective field goal percentage, per PBP Stats.
Somehow, San Antonio is not paying for mistakes in the form of transition buckets but is making others pay, and it’s really helping their offence.
70% – Win percentage in clutch games
The Spurs have had a frustrating habit of building leads and then not sustaining them. The good news is that even when they let opponents back in the game, they do a good job of getting close wins, currently holding a 7-3 record in games that go down to the clutch.
It’s early in the season, but it has been a major turnaround from past years. In 2024/25, they finished 19th in clutch win percentage, winning 17 games and losing 20. In prior seasons, they had an even worse record. In general, the Spurs have owned fourth quarters, posting the third-best net rating in the league in the final frame and a better mark than in the first and second periods. It’s a good thing, since they are actually one of the worst third-quarter teams in the league, posting a negative net rating of 5.3 that has them sitting at 22nd.
Ideally, the Spurs would get good enough to blow out most opponents and rarely have to play close games, but that’s not likely to happen, at least this season. So it’s a good thing that they have been getting it done in the clutch, with Wembanyama leading the way and Fox hopefully providing an elite second option to rely on, if he regains his clutch excellence.
For a relatively young team, San Antonio seems comfortable in intense moments, which is encouraging and helps explain why they have a good record.
