The San Antonio Spurs are back… kind of. The preseason will kick off with a matchup against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions, a professional team from then Chinese Basketball Association. The Lions have their core roster of Chinese natives, but also add some foreign players for the NBA preseason, many of whom are former NBA veterans.
The Spurs will get their first warm-up game of the year against the likes of Victor Oladipo, Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky, Tim Frazier, Deonte Burton and George King. San
Antonio will likely be without key players like De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Kelly Olynyk, who all missed the Spurs scrimmage on Saturday night. NBA teams are not required to submit an injury report before the game, so we likely won’t know which players will rest until game time.
Despite several newcomers on the injury report, the Spurs still have more new faces that need to get use to playing with the existing roster. Luke Kornet, Carter Bryant and Lindy Waters should make their debut with the Silver and Black. A game against a non-NBA team seems like the perfect opportunity for new players to prove themselves in the preseason.
San Antonio Spurs (0-0) vs. Guangzhou Loong-Lions (0-0)
October 6th, 2025 | 7 PM CT
Watch: CW 35 | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: De’Aaron Fox – Out (hamstring), Dylan Harper – Questionable (thumb), Kelly Olynyk – Questionable (heel), Devin Vassell – Questionable (ankle)
Lions Injuries: N/A
What to watch for:
Wembanyama’s footwork
It’s probably not wise to have overarching takeaways from a pre-season scrimmage, but Victor Wembanyama looked like a different player in the post. His footwork and balance looked much improved down low. He showed off a few good looking pivots, a dream shake (that didn’t result in a shot) and strong finishes in the paint. The Spurs big man trained with Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett this summer – two of the best post-players of all time. If Wemby adds a true back-to-the-basket post game, he could be even harder to stop.
Luke Kornet’s role
Will the Spurs play a two-big lineup? How often will that be a part of their plan? Those are two of the most interesting lineup decisions facing the coaching staff this year. Kornet stands at the center (no pun intended) of all those decisions. San Antonio typically doesn’t expose its plans in the preseason, but it will be a good opportunity for the team to see how the two-big lineup fares. Even if we don’t see a lot of Kornet and Wemby, it’ll be interesting to see how he fits alongside the rest of the Spurs second unit.
Carter Bryant minutes
Bryant seems like the exciting rookie who may not have a solidified rotation spot this year. It may be awhile until Spurs fans get to see the wing play significant minutes. The preseason game will be a nice benchmark to see how he has improved since summer league. It’ll also be a chance for fans to see how he fits alongside the rest of the roster.
