The San Antonio Spurs are being projected to be better in the coming 2024-25 NBA season than they were in 2023-24 by Bleacher Report league analyst Andy Hughes. And while that might not seem to be the most nuanced take given development is not always linear for teams as much as players, Hughes has good reason to believe he is right.
For starters, rising star forward Victor Wembanyama is going to be better next season, even if he isn’t advancing as fast as he did last season (and he might!). And there has been a lot of work around the margins as well to add talent, all of which are on the B/R analyst’s radar. “Wembanyama is going to make an All-NBA team, finish no worse than third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and add substantially to his historic rookie averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game,” he begins.
“That, by the way, is the conservative outlook, Hughes warns us. “On the more aggressive side, no one should rule out Wembanyama finishing among the top five in MVP voting (or winning it!), becoming the first player to average at least 5.0 blocks and 5.0 assists or pulling off any other seemingly far-fetched feats.”
How did San Antonio Spurs rookie guard Stephon Castle do in his first Las Vegas Summer League? https://t.co/uOG3yf2w56 pic.twitter.com/goWymkXXTQ
— SpursWire (@Spurs_Wire) July 18, 2024
“Banking on the San Antonio Spurs winning a lot more games isn’t just about Wemby, though. It’s about who’s around him,” he adds, hinting at the additions of Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes, Harrison Ingram, and Stephon Castle visa free agency, trades, and the draft.
“The Spurs won 22 games last year. As long as Wemby stays healthy, they’re going to be likelier to lose just 22 games in any given season over the next decade or so.”
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