Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on Tuesday explained the importance of playing in the G League this season for Primo.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on Tuesday explained that rookie Josh Primo will continue to play throughout the season in the NBA G League with the Austin Spurs.
Primo has logged seven appearances with Austin after playing sparingly in San Antonio. The organization views it as a great opportunity for Primo to continue to develop and adjust to the next level by playing with Austin in the G League.
He is the youngest player in the NBA this season and still has plenty of room to grow on the court. Popovich said he will see time in San Antonio some but will continue to be with Austin whenever possible.
We want him to have more time in Austin, for obvious reasons. He needs to mature in every way, shape and form because of his age. But, having said that, he has got the confidence that belies his age. He is pretty steady in his emotions.
He shows a great affinity for the game, understands what’s going on better than most people and he is willing to stick his nose in so the experience he gets in the G League is important for the physicality and all of that sort of thing.
Primo has impressed during his time with Austin, averaging 18.4 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots. He has scored in double figures in each of his seven games and last had a 27-point performance on Dec. 3 versus the Greensboro Swarm.
He has seen an uptick in playing time with San Antonio as of late due to injuries, logging 18 minutes on Sunday versus the Phoenix Suns and 15 minutes on Tuesday against the New York Knicks. He will likely rejoin Austin soon as the Spurs get some bodies back.
The Spurs certainly view Primo as a big part of the future, and he has shown why in a small sample size in the G League. The organization has found great success utilizing its G League affiliate, and Primo could be the next to benefit.
Murray and White were among those on hand to watch Josh Primo and the Austin Spurs host the Memphis Hustle in the G League.
San Antonio Spurs players Dejounte Murray and Derrick White were among those on hand Saturday to watch rookie Josh Primo and the Austin Spurs host the Memphis Hustle in the NBA G League.
Primo produced a team-high 18 points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds in 31 minutes of work in the 108-78 loss. He converted on 8-of-21 shot attempts from the field as the Spurs were down for the majority of the game, trailing by as many as 32 points.
The contest marked the fifth of the season for Primo with Austin. He has played sparingly for San Antonio, totaling just 13 minutes across four appearances but has had the opportunity to see extended time in the G League.
Dejounte Murray & Derrick White are in Austin to watch Josh Primo & the Austin Spurs pic.twitter.com/txr9LvwIRK
The contest didn’t go the way Austin wanted it to but it is certainly encouraging to see Murray and White make the trek to Austin and watch the Spurs play. They have both played with Austin in the past and wanted to show their support on Saturday.
Primo, the 12th pick, flashed signs of his potential in the preseason with the Spurs, averaging 5.8 points, 1.2 assists and one rebound in five appearances. He even earned praise for his feel for the game and confidence level at just 18 years old.
The Spurs certainly view Primo as a big part of the future and he has shown why in a small sample size in the G League. The organization has found great success utilizing their G League affiliate, and Primo could be the next to benefit.
Primo, through the first four games of the season, has made just two appearances with the Spurs, totaling six minutes.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Josh Primo on Wednesday was assigned to the Austin Spurs in the NBA G League for the start of training camp, the team announced.
Primo, through the first four games of the season, has made just two appearances with the Spurs, totaling five points in six minutes. He is not expected to join the Spurs on their upcoming three-game road trip starting Thursday in Dallas.
The assignment will give Primo the opportunity to go through full practices with Austin after playing sparingly to this point. He could spend portions of the season with Austin to continue his development, something the team has previously done with other players.
Primo, the 12th overall pick, flashed signs of his potential in the preseason with the Spurs, averaging 5.8 points, 1.2 assists and one rebound in five appearances. He even earned some praise for his feel for the game and confidence level at just 18-years-old.
He could see some extended time with Austin but the Spurs have found great success utilizing their affiliate, and Primo could be the next to benefit from those minutes.
Rookie Wire took a look at how each lottery pick played in their debut game and offered a grade for each performance.
Excitement spread across the sports world on Wednesday as the NBA continued to tip off its 75th anniversary season with 22 teams in action around the country.
The evening saw several elite performances from the biggest stars in the game, while the bulk of the rookie class also hit the court for the first time. Several of the top first-year players were in action as the final results produced a mixed reaction.
Of course, No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham was absent from the Detroit Pistons’ lineup due to a right ankle sprain but Wednesday saw plenty of other high draft picks make their debuts, including Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs among others.
Rookie Wire went through and took a look at how each lottery pick played in their debut game. We offered a grade for each performance, and some analysis on how they looked on the court.
Primo was the youngest player in the NBA draft this year but has shown plenty of maturity on the court.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Joshua Primo on Sunday logged just nine minutes of work, but the 12th overall pick made the most of his time on the court in a win over the Orlando Magic.
Primo entered the contest with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. He responded by recording eight points and one rebound on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. His timely shots helped the Spurs hold off the Magic for the 101-100 victory.
The 18-year-old was the youngest player in the NBA draft this year but has shown plenty of maturity on the court. Spurs forward Keita Bates-Diop noticed that Primo just plays the right way.
For how young he is, he has got a great feel for the game already. He is confident but he makes the right plays, too. He is not just out there shooting every time or has to have the ball in his hands. He knows how to play off of it and on it already.
The selection of Primo was questioned by some but he has shown plenty of promise to this point. He scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in his preseason debut on Oct. 4 and looked to be very effective on offense during that contest.
Primo could eventually see some time in the NBA G League with the Austin Spurs to further develop. However, the Spurs have found great success utilizing their affiliate, and Primo could be the next to benefit from that time in Austin.
Rookie Wire took a look at the players that have signed endorsement contracts with apparel companies ahead of the 2021-22 season.
With the start of the 2021-22 season approaching, at least a quarter of players drafted in July have inked shoe endorsement contracts with prospective apparel companies.
The endorsement deals are headlined by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham signing with Nike. The No. 1 overall pick signed what is believed to be the highest-earning shoe deal among all rookie players this year.
Prospects last season signed fewer endorsement contracts with brands due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, apparel companies worked fast this year to sign some of the top prospects with Nike and Adidas doing the majority of the work.
Rookie Wire took a look at those players that have signed endorsement contracts to this point and which companies they will be joining ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Note: The tracker will be updated as new deals are announced
Primo joins a star-studded roster of athletes, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Paul George among others.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Joshua Primo has reportedly signed a multiyear shoe and apparel endorsement contract with Nike, according to Jeff Garcia of KENS-TV.
His agent, Todd Ramasar, confirmed the news of the signing.
The 12th overall pick had a strong showing with the Spurs in summer league, averaging 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four games between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. He finished by producing 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks on Aug. 15.
The crop of Nike rookie players this year are expected to help Nike usher in their new “Greater Than” series, wearing player-exclusive models such as the GT Cut, GT Run and GT Jump. Primo will also wear some Jordan’s this season, as well.
It is estimated 68% of NBA players wear Nike on the court.
Primo is proving that he deserved to be a lottery pick!
Former Alabama guard Joshua Primo was drafted No. 12 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 NBA draft. Originally, fans and analysts from across the league with critical of the move by the Spurs, claiming that Primo was drafted far earlier than he should have been.
However, through two games in the NBA Summer League, Primo has silenced the doubters.
In yesterday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies, Primo played for over 30 minutes, shooting 41.2% from the field, scoring 17 points with three assists and two blocks.
The Spurs social media accounts, as well as other online, have posted videos of the rookies game, commenting on how well he’s performing.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Josh Primo is going to work hard and he is going to work fast.
The biggest surprise of the 2021 NBA draft was when the San Antonio Spurs selected Joshua Primo with the No. 12 overall pick. Heck, even he didn’t believe his agent when he first heard the news.
Most analysts had Primo, who doesn’t turn 19 years old until Christmas and is the youngest player who declared for the 2021 NBA draft, pegged somewhere closer to the end of the first round in their mock draft projections. But as recently as April 2021, after the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Primo’s name didn’t appear on a single mock draft.
For some, the pick may be a bit confusing. Fortunately, after getting to know each other a bit during the pre-draft process, Primo and his team invited me to join them to watch the draft unfold.
What I learned, and what can help clear up some confusion, is fairly simple. Many of the scouts and executives I have spoken with believed Primo could have been a lottery pick if he returned for another year of college basketball. So if that’s to be believed, then we already knew Primo bragged lottery-level talent. The question would be whether it would be developed in an NCAA system or an NBA system.
Once he was fully committed to staying in the draft, NBA teams no longer had the option of waiting to see how he would improve as a sophomore. If they wanted him in their organization, they had to strike now.
So when it was time for the No. 12 overall pick and San Antonio was on the clock, as Primo and his family and friends anxiously watched the screen, his agent came over to break the good news. San Antonio made the call. Primo was heading to the Spurs.
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“All that hard work, all the moments that you have with your family, it all pours out. It kind of just flowed from there. I let it out,” Primo told For The Win, shortly after his lifelong dream had been realized. “I wasn’t going to hold it back at that point.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of prospects invited to attend the 2021 NBA draft was limited. Primo didn’t receive the invitation to Barclays Center. Prospects not invited to the green room were not permitted to come shake the commissioner’s hand if they chose to attend in the crowd, so he and his family wound up having their own party.
Though he was actually selected before eight of the players who were invited to the green room, he felt he was exactly where he wanted to be.
“I was able to have family and friends around me and the guys that I worked with over the past few months like Yves Pons and Justin Champagnie, guys that pushed me each and every day. I think it’s an even better situation. I’m here with the people I’ve been grinding with.”
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Ultimately, when San Antonio was on the clock, it was hardly a big deal that his body of work was still relatively limited. It didn’t matter that Primo didn’t begin his season at Alabama in the starting lineup or that he came off the bench during their two games in the NCAA tournament, too.
In fact, the track record of other young guards and wings selected in the first round without much first-unit experience in the NCAA is fruitful. Zach LaVine, who was an All-Star this past season, was selected at No. 13 overall in 2014 despite starting just one game for UCLA. Devin Booker, a two-time All-Star and reigning Western Conference champion, also went No. 13 overall without starting a single game at Kentucky.
Much like with LaVine and Booker, as I wrote in my article about the biggest risers in the draft, Primo physically fits the bill for what NBA teams are looking for. He is 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, ideal height and length for a prospect likely to play on the perimeter in the pros.
He also has the most marketable skill there is for a modern NBA: a lethal jump shot. He showed it when he played for Canada’s squad during the U19 World Cup in 2019 and it continued during his time at Alabama.
Primo averaged 1.25 points per possession on his jump shot this past season, per Synergy, which ranked 96th percentile among D-I players. With his size and his shooting, he checked enough boxes for San Antonio and always made sense as a long-term investment.
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“They know I’m able to play a lot of positions on the floor. I’m able to handle the ball and make plays. Of course, my shooting ability is great,” he explained. “They’re a team that is committed to the process. I think that’s what was big for them. I’m a young player coming into this league. They know I’m going to work. I know I’m going to work. We’re going to have fun with this whole thing.”
The main takeaway from my experience with Primo on Thursday night is how much of the pre-draft process doesn’t show up on paper with statistics or on film during the games. NBA organizations are investing millions of dollars into their first-round picks and want to make sure they are confident and believe in the individual they plan to select.
Whether it was from folks who spoke to him at Basketball Without Borders in 2020 or from teammates like Herbert Jones who played alongside him at the collegiate level, I had heard nothing but rave reviews of Primo. I wasn’t surprised when ESPN, SI.com, CBS Sports, BasketballNews.com and Chad Ford all listed Primo as one of the biggest risers following the NBA draft combine.
However, when I interviewed Primo during the pre-draft process, I still found myself blown away by the maturity and wisdom he carried in every answer. His anecdote about why he never quits at anything — except tennis, because he was a 12-year-old kid getting destroyed by 8-year-olds — made me laugh out loud.
He was somebody who understood the proverbial it and is willing to accept whatever role it takes for him to take the next steps in his path to success. All things considered, it was very easy to see why San Antonio decided he was worth the pick. I asked him what his first thoughts were when he put on the hat.
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“Family,” he said. “That’s what they preach. I went to their workout and it’s guys who are going to work hard and they’re going to work with you. When I put that hat on, I knew that they got me and I got them. We’re a part of a huge family organization now.”
When the pre-draft process began, Primo told his agent that he wanted to end up on the Spurs. It’s easy to see why. After all, San Antonio won three titles just in between the time he was born and when he turned five years old.
Even the most casual basketball fan knows the success the organization has had with the likes of longtime players like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. In terms of development, few prospects flourished after the draft as much as Kawhi Leonard did during his time with the organization.
Primo is well-aware of it all and eager to be next in the lineage of players to thrive on the Spurs.
“I know what they’re about. They have sustained winning for a long period of time and they put in work for the development of their players. That’s very attractive to me,” Primo said. “I’m going to work hard and I tend to work fast. Watch me prove what the Spurs already knew.”
Mixed reactions to Primo being drafted at No. 12 overall…
The San Antonio Spurs selected former Alabama guard Joshua Primo with the No. 12 overall selection in the 2021 NBA draft.
Primo was not originally thought of as a player to declare for the draft after his first season. In fact, many were surprised to see him remain in the draft and hire an agent. The decision has worked out and Primo is now heading to San Antonio.
NBA fans, analysts and media members are weighing in on the selection. Some believe it was too early, while others are excited to see what the youngest player in the 2021 draft class can do at the professional level.
Spurs have been targeting Josh Primo at No. 12, sources tell ESPN.
anybody but the Spurs make that Primo pick this early and they would get wrecked but since it's the Spurs we all just nod in agreement. they've earned that.
Alabama guard Josh Primo is picked No. 12 overall by the San Antonio Spurs. A significant surprise after Primo was projected to be picked late in the first round.
— King Matthew the Broken♿ (@MattCastleberry) July 30, 2021
Josh Primo absolutely made the right decision to leave now. Was hoping he would come back and make that leap from 26th (in the mock drafts) to lottery but turns out he didn't need it. @AlabamaMBB
