SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Victor Wembanyama and most of his San Antonio teammates will make their playoff debut Sunday against Portland.
Much has been made of the lack of playoff experience on San Antonio鈥檚 youthful roster, but the Spurs actually have a ton of postseason knowledge to lean on.
It comes in the form of postseason appearances by veteran players like De鈥橝aron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Luke Kornet, Bismack Biyombo and Kelly Olynyk, and staff like associate head coach Sean Sweeney and assistants Corliss Williamson and Rashard Lewis.
But the greatest source of information and inspiration comes from the franchise鈥檚 iconic leader, Gregg Popovich.
A fixture at the Spurs practice facility while he continues to rehabilitate from a stroke suffered Nov. 2, 2024, Popovich addressed the team earlier this week.
鈥�(Popovich said) just to be us, not to really do anything different from what we鈥檝e been doing all season,鈥� San Antonio guard Stephon Castle said. 鈥淗e gave us another perspective on how well we鈥檝e been playing and the position we鈥檝e put ourselves in.鈥�
Sound advice for a team that finished with the league’s second-best record at 62-20 and won the Southwest Division for the first time since 2017.
Still, no amount of advice can replace action, but the Spurs are eager for their first playoff series since 2019.
Deni Avdija had 41 points and 12 assists as the Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 114-110 on Tuesday to earn the seventh seed.
San Antonio veteran Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are in the postseason for the first time after playing through all or most of six seasons of futility.
鈥淢e and KJ are super excited,鈥� said Vassell, who is in his fifth season. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about it over and over, even were talking about it this morning. It鈥檚 just good to be in this position, not only just for us, but for the community and for the fans that鈥檚 been here and kind of waiting. Its been a long time, overdue, but we鈥檙e here and ready to go.鈥�
Wembanyama (22), Castle (21), Champagnie (24) and Vassell (25), Dylan Harper (20) and Carter Bryant (20) lead an energetic and athletic roster that finished third in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is anything as far as in the basketball realm that I think we鈥檙e nervous about,鈥� Fox said. 鈥淥bviously, people talk about experience and all those things, whatever it may be, we鈥檝e to go out there and play basketball and I think we have an extremely good basketball team.鈥�
Welcome Back
Portland coach Tiago Splitter played five seasons in San Antonio beginning in 2010, including being a key reserve on the Spurs’ 2014 championship team.
Splitter, Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills established the team’s 鈥淐offee Gang,” primarily made of Spurs reserves who spent a lot of time on the road drinking coffee and having lunch together.
As deep as their friendships are, Splitter knows those bonds only go so far when it comes to who Ginobili and Diaw will cheer for in this series.
鈥淚 think there is a romantic feeling about it, but that鈥檚 it,” Splitter told reporters. 鈥淢anu is Spurs for sure. Boris, we鈥檒l see. I got to invite him for a couple glasses of wine.鈥�
On a Run
San Antonio is 10-0 at home against Portland in the postseason, including arguably the most impactful victory in franchise history.
The Spurs exorcised a history of postseason futility with what is now known as the 鈥淢emorial Day Miracle鈥� in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals on May 31 at the Alamodome.
After trailing by 18 points, San Antonio rallied to win on Sean Elliott鈥檚 3-pointer. Elliott tiptoed the sideline, spinning on his toes and keeping his heels elevated to avoid stepping out of bounds to drain a 3-pointer that proved to be the game-winning shot.
San Antonio went on to sweep the series and win its first of five NBA championships.
Turnover Prone
Portland averaged 17.3 turnovers while committing 1,417, the most in the league this season.
All Good
San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson became a little superstitious when reminded that the Spurs enter the postseason healthy after battling minor injuries in the final weeks of the season.
鈥淚鈥檝e got to,鈥� Johnson said, rapping a knuckle to his forehead because there was no wood within arm鈥檚 reach to knock on.
Wembanyama missed three of the team鈥檚 final seven games after suffering a left rib contusion during the first half of San Antonio鈥檚 115-102 victory over Philadelphia on April 6.
Castle missed two of the final three games with right knee and left foot soreness.
Harper injured his left thumb and did not play in the fourth quarter of a 128-118 loss to Denver in its regular-season finale on April 12.
All three will play in the series opener Sunday.
Top Secret
Wembanyama did not play against Portland this season, battling ankle and rib injuries as San Antonio won the season series 2-1.
Considering the Trail Blazers have not seen Wembanyama during the best of his three seasons in the NBA, the Frenchman was jokingly asked if he could be the Spurs secret weapon in this series.
鈥淭he best kept secret,鈥� Wembanyama said, laughing afterward.
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