San Antonio Spurs rookie Sidy Cissoko has been assigned to the Austin Spurs ahead of the start of the G League regular season, the team announced.
Cissoko will participate with Austin during its training camp, which will be held at the Victory Capital Performance Center, the organization’s new practice facility in San Antonio. The team will tip off its season on the road on Nov. 10 against the Birmingham Squadron.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich previously said Cissoko would likely spend much of the season in the G League. There, Cissoko will have the opportunity to log extended minutes.
“It would be unwise to have him on the varsity team, so to speak, and sit there and watch us play where he can play 30 minutes or so a game and start to figure it out,” Popovich said on Oct. 9. “But we’ll see. He could surprise me and progress a lot further than I think.”
Cissoko was the 44th pick by the Spurs after playing last season with the G League Ignite. He made five appearances during the preseason, totaling two points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 45 1/2 minutes.
He has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Cissoko became a second-round pick because of his ability to score, pass and defend with his 6-foot, 9 3/4-inch wingspan. He also has tremendous athleticism and had a number of highlight-reel dunks with the Ignite last season.
The organization has utilized its G League affiliate extensively. Keldon Johnson, Blake Wesley, Malaki Branham and Tre Jones each spent time in Austin and found success there. Cissoko hopes to become the latest player to take advantage of the program.
“I’m ready because I knew in the beginning I wouldn’t get like 20 minutes on the first team already,” Cissoko said this month. “I knew when we were talking about the contract that this would happen. I will be with (Sir’Jabari Rice) and Dom (Barlow). (Other players on the team) went to the G League to play, so I won’t say no.”
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