In a final tuneup before the playoffs, the Spurs took to the court and walked away relatively healthy (I’m looking at you, Dylan Harper’s thumb), which is all that matters. De’Aaron Fox led the team with 24 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Keldon Johnson contributed 18 points with 6 rebounds in the loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Stephon Castle seems ready for the playoffs to begin, but judging from this half court pass to Carter Bryant, he’s ready for the NFL draft as well.
Here’s a different angle of that pass: the recipient, Carter Bryant, put on an absolute aerial display on Sunday. This flying rookie made the most of his impactful minutes, scoring 13 points and recording 5 boards, 5 assists, and 3 blocks (more on that later).
This version of the Spurs’ inaugural playoff debut will be a memorable one for players like Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, but it will also be extra special for longtime Spurs like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell who trudged through some dry years.
If at first you don’t succeed, follow through on your shot and slam it home.
Devin Vassell, here, was reaping what the Spurs’ defense sowed. As mentioned before along with Keldon Johnson, Spurs fans could not be happier for the two longest tenured Spurs about to embark on their first playoff series.
As cool as the other side of the pillow (RIP Stuart Scott) . . . De’Aaron Fox smoothly and (just) casually drains this long-range bomb all the way from the west side of SA.
I promised you more Carter Bryant, and by golly gillicky willickers, you’re going to get more Carter Bryant. In this frame, the best basketball player in the world was channeling his best Dante from “Clerks,” thinking to himself, “I wasn’t even supposed to be here today! Stupid 65-game rule” while trying to block the energetic rookie barrelling down the lane.
If both the Spurs and Nuggets advance out of the first round, they will meet in the second round so personally I hope the 3-time MVP has a short memory or will conveniently be busy thinking of his prized horses rather than having an ax to grind with CB.
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Well folks, we made it. This chapter of the regular season finally closed, and after a brief drought, our favorite basketball team is headed back to the playoffs. I wanted to thank J.R. Wilco for giving me another year to wax on about the San Antonio Spurs. I first started writing for Pounding the Rock in the fall of 2018, which means that was also the last time the Spurs made the playoffs. It’s been some lean years, but all worth it to see this team rebuilt from the ground up, brick by brick—or rather, rock by rock. Go Spurs Go!
If you missed the game because you were too busy getting “Memorial Day Miracle” tattooed across your back next to Sean Elliott’s face also inked across your back, here are the full-game highlights:
Next up, the Spurs host the first round of the playoffs against the (to be determined) at the Frost Bank Center on Sunday, April 18, 2026!
