Tag: Devin Vassell

Devin Vassell credits Gregg Popovich for ‘Spurs basketball’ vs. Jazz

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, Devin Vassell credited Gregg Popovich.

Following their huge, Victor Wembanyama-less win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, the San Antonio Spurs looked to keep the ball rolling on Wednesday. They succeeded in that goal, taking down the Utah Jazz with Wembanyama back in the lineup. They earned a 118-111 win over the Jazz in their first road game since March 9.

Devin Vassell led the way for the Spurs against the Jazz, as he managed to score 31 points. Meanwhile, Wembanyama put up 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five blocks. As for San Antonio as a team, they dished out a wild 40 assists on 40 made baskets.

After the game, Vassell credited head coach Gregg Popovich for their play, calling it “Spurs basketball.” (H/t ESPN)

“That’s Spurs basketball … and Pop preaches it all the time,” Vassell said Popovich. “We were knocking down shots today and everybody was sharing it.”

The victory marked the Spurs’ fifth win in the month of March.

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Victor Wembanyama praises Devin Vassell after Spurs win over Jazz

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, Victor Wembanyama praised Devin Vassell.

Following the San Antonio Spurs’ blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, they bounced back with a win over that same Suns team on Monday. Fast forward to Wednesday, they won their second game in a row as Victor Wembanyama returned to the lineup after missing their win over Phoenix.

Wembanyama played well against the Jazz, but it wasn’t actually him to led the way. Instead, it was Devin Vassell who was the best player on the floor. Vassell finished the game with 31 points, four rebounds, and six assists while shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line.

After the game, Wembanyama praised Vassell’s offensive game, noting how hard he makes it on opposing defenses. (H/t ESPN)

“He’s becoming a real problem for defenses,” Wembanyama said of Vassell. “It’s beautiful to see him evolve like this throughout the year.”

Vassell’s emergence as an elite offensive talent is huge for the Spurs.

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Gregg Popovich wants Spurs star Devin Vassell ‘to be a bit selfish’

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich wants Devin Vassell to be even more selfish.

All the talk surrounding the San Antonio Spurs this season has been about Victor Wembanyama. The star rookie has been incredible on both ends of the court, but there is more to this Spurs team than just Wembanyama. They have a great group around him, headlined by fourth-year wing Devin Vassell.

After dealing with a ton of injury issues last season, Vassell has enjoyed a solid season this year, emerging as one of the best players on the Spurs. His scoring ability has paired beautifully next to Wembanyama, and as they continue to develop chemistry together, this Spurs team will only get more and more dangerous.

Head coach Gregg Popovich recently spoke about how he even wants Vassell to be more selfish. (H/t Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express-News)

“Devin is starting to figure out that I want him to be a bit selfish,” Popovich said. “I want him to score and he can score. He’s got a lot of confidence in his 3-point shot, in his ability to be a little bit of a one-on-one play when we need it, a kind of a go-to guy.”

If Vassell can keep improving with Wembanyama, the Spurs will have a nice dynamic duo on their hands moving forward.

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Is San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell untouchable in trade inquiries?

That he is locked up for reasonable value for another five seasons after this one suggests the Spurs value him very much — but could he be the focal point of a deal to add even more talent?

Given the potentially historic impact of San Antonio Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama on the history of the NBA, it is not a surprise that the lion’s share of media attention has been focused on the French forward since his arrival in Texas.

But where does Devin Vassell fit into the Spurs’ future plans? The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has improved his game this season to the point that people are starting to wonder if the Florida State alum is untouchable for San Antonio in this offseason to come. Putting up 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while still on his rookie deal is intriguing.

That he is locked up for reasonable value for another five seasons after this one suggests the Spurs value him very much — but could he be the focal point of a deal to add even more talent?

Or has he pushed himself into the “only for a megastar” category for San Antonio’s front office? The hosts of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast recently debated this — check out the clip above to hear their thoughts.

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Devin Vassell on Spurs’ rest-of-season goals after tough loss to Kings

After the San Antonio Spurs’ tough loss to the Sacramento Kings, Devin Vassell spoke about the team’s rest-of-season goals.

The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the worst teams in the league this season, but they have talent. Victor Wembanyama has been incredible in his rookie year, and though the Spurs haven’t been winning many games, there’s a clear pathway for San Antonio to improve moving forward.

On Thursday night, the Spurs were in California to take on the Sacramento Kings. San Antonio fought hard against the playoff-bound Kings, but in the end, De’Aaron Fox helped propel Sacramento to victory. The Spurs were up with roughly a minute left, but it wasn’t enough to secure them a win.

After the game, Devin Vassell spoke about the team’s goals for the remainder of the season.

“Our goal is obviously to get better, get some wins,” Vassell said via ESPN. “That’s the main thing. That’s been the main thing since we started the season. Obviously, we haven’t been great at that. So just trying to turn this thing around these last 26 games now.”

The Spurs may not make the playoffs this year, but they’re going to look to fight hard in every game.

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Devin Vassell on how Spurs season hasn’t gone according to plan

Devin Vassell recently spoke about how the San Antonio Spurs’ season hasn’t been as successful as they may have hoped.

When the San Antonio Spurs drafted Victor Webanyama, it marked a change in the organization’s history. The 20-year-old rookie has been nothing short of incredible this season, and he clearly has the talent to be the face of the franchise. Unfortunately, his rookie season in the league hasn’t been too great in terms of team success.

The Spurs have been the worst team in the Western Conference for the majority of the season, and unless something drastic changes, it looks as though things will remain that way. San Antonio knew they would be rebuilding, but they probably didn’t think things would be as rough as they’ve been.

Devin Vassell recently discussed how the season hasn’t gone the way the Spurs have wanted. (H/t Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News)

“I don’t think at the beginning of the season we would have thought we’d be in this position,” Vassell said. “These last 27 games, maybe we can flip it around and go into a roll going into the offseason.”

The Spurs may not be winning many games this year, but their bound for improvement in the coming seasons.

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Devin Vassell on future with Victor Wembanyama: ‘Going to be scary’

Devin Vassell is excited about the future of the San Antonio Spurs with Victor Wembanyama.

At the 2024 NBA All-Star break, the San Antonio Spurs are the worst team in the Western Conference. They are 11-44, which is on pace for the worst record in franchise history. However, just because they aren’t winning many games doesn’t mean there aren’t things for fans to be excited about moving forward.

Obviously, the talent of Victor Wembanyama is enough to distract fans from the tough season the Spurs are having. Alongside Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and the rest of San Antonio’s young core, Wembanyama looks ready to lead the Spurs into the future (hopefully, with a few more marks in the win column after this year).

But just because they’re having a bad year doesn’t mean the Spurs are getting down. In fact, Vassell is extremely excited about the future. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“It’s going to be scary,” Vassell said, “To see what he’s going to look like in the next three or four years, what our team chemistry is going to look like, what me and him playing as a duo is going to look like. It’s interesting, special. We have something good here.”

Wembanyama and Vassell look like they could be a dominant duo in San Antoni for years to come.

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Devin Vassell mocks Raptors after Victor Wembanyama’s elite showing

After Victor Wembanyama’s dominant performance, San Antonio Spurs star Devin Vassell jokingly mocked the Toronto Raptors.

The San Antonio Spurs haven’t been doing much winning this season. Following their selection of Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the draft this past summer, that could have been assumed, but many thought they’d be a bit better than they are this season. That said, they’ve been playing better as of late.

They are fresh off a blowout win over the Toronto Raptors in which Wembanyama was absolutely dominant. He became the youngest player to ever record a triple-double with blocks as he turned away 10 shots against the Raptors. He also added 27 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists to his totals.

After the game, Spurs star Devin Vassell jokingly mocked the Raptors, questioning whether or not they realized Wembanyama can block shots.

“I guess it’s not on the scouting report that he can block a shot,” Vassell said via ESPN. “I guess they’ll learn one of these days.”

Perhaps this was a shot at the rest of the league, but regardless, Wembanyama’s dominance shined through.

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Devin Vassell praises Victor Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan after Spurs win

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Toronto Raptors, Devin Vassell praised Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan.

Heading into their Monday night contest against the Toronto Raptors, the San Antonio Spurs were looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. And thanks to a dominant performance from Victor Wembanyama, they did just that, earning a 122-99 victory over the Raptors, who seriously changed their roster with trades this season.

Wembanyama became the youngest player ever to post a triple-double with blocks, but he wasn’t the only player who put on an impressive showing against Toronto. Devin Vassell also added 25 points, and Jeremy Sochan had 16 points and six rebounds as well. Plus, Keldon Johnson, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley came off the bench and played well, too.

After the game, Vassell praised the Spurs’ performance, showing love to Wembanyama and Sochan, in particular.

“I feel like we fed off of Vic [Wembanyama] and we came out on both ends of the floor,” Vassell said via Jeremy Brener of Inside the Spurs. “Knocking down threes, blocking shots. He was just all over the place. Passing the ball. He was really carrying us through the first quarter. Jeremy [Sochan] was playing tremendous defense going against Scottie [Barnes].

“The way we were all together just on the defensive end and getting out and running was huge. It just shows when we’re playing together like that, we’re just connected and making shots and getting stops we can be a great team.”

The Spurs will be back in action on Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks.

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Gregg Popovich reveals message to Spurs’ Devin Vassell in Magic game

After the San Antonio Spurs’ loss to the Orlando Magic, Gregg Popovich revealed the message that led to Devin Vassell’s scoring outburst.

A relatively quiet trade deadline saw the San Antonio Spurs move Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round pick and Marcus Morris, who will be bought out. However, that wasn’t the players’ focus on Thursday. They had a game against the Orlando Magic, and by halftime, they were down by 17 points.

San Antonio shot very poorly in the first half, while Orlando shot 57.1% from the field and 50.0% from behind the three-point line. Devin Vassell, in particular, had a rough first half. He shot 0-of-5 from the floor, ending the first two quarters with zero points. It was one of his worst games in recent memory.

But at halftime, head coach Gregg Popovich had a message for him.

“I said: ‘Dev, I don’t want to be too pushy or anything, but if you want to go ahead and score a little bit and play a little bit better, that’d be fine,’” Popovich said via ESPN.

Popovich’s sarcastic remarks must have sparked something inside of Vassell because he exploded in the third quarter.

Vassell poured in 23 third-quarter points, nailing all nine of his shots, including two three-point buckets. He also had two rebounds and two assists, and in the fourth, he followed up the explosion with a modest seven-point quarter.

Unfortunately, Vassell’s impressive third-quarter showing wasn’t enough to earn the Spurs a win, as the Magic ended up taking home a 127-111 win.

San Antonio has now lost six games in a row but will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

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