The Spurs Don’t Look Like a Young Team. They Look Like a System.

This article comes from a segment on a recent episode of Harrison Talks Pod, where I broke down how De’Aaron Fox has elevated the Spurs from exciting to terrifying.

The San Antonio Spurs have become one of the most compelling teams in the NBA, and it is not just because Victor Wembanyama looks like a once-in-a-generation star. It is because the Spurs already look like a fully developed system. At the time of recording, they are 7–2, undefeated at home, and posting a +7.3 Net Rating, which is the statistical profile of a playoff team, not a rebuilding one. Their offense is even stronger: a 118.1 Offensive Rating that ranks in top-seven territory leaguewide. But the most impressive thing about this team isn’t a specific stat or a breakout performance. The most impressive thing is their identity. San Antonio plays team basketball. Sixty percent of their baskets are assisted. They do not stall possessions, settle for lazy shots, or devolve into hero ball. Their system consistently creates easy offense, and because the process is reliable, the results are repeatable. This team is winning because of structure.

The reason this system works is simple: the Spurs don’t force their players into an identity, they build the identity around the players. They thrive in four key playstyle areas: the pick-and-roll with Wembanyama as the roll man, dribble handoff actions, cutting, and transition, and each of those actions ranks in the top twenty percent or better leaguewide. Three of those actions grade in the ninety-third percentile. When Wemby screens and dives, defenses collapse. When cutters attack the gaps behind those collapses, they finish uncontested. When the Spurs force turnovers or grab rebounds, their length and speed immediately punish teams in transition. The Spurs create advantages and they do not waste advantages. That is the core of their identity. Wembanyama doesn’t have to be Luka or Embiid and self-create every possession. The offense works for him, not the other way around.

And now they’ve added a point guard who thrives in that exact style.

De’Aaron Fox returned against the Pelicans and instantly took command of the game. He finished with 24 points on 64 percent shooting and at one point scored 13 straight. In the closing minutes, the Spurs needed someone to settle them, and Fox delivered with a floater and clutch free throws. For the first time all year, the Spurs had a closer. With Fox on the floor, everything sharpens. Stephon Castle no longer has to carry playmaking and defense at the same time. Wembanyama gets cleaner catches instead of fighting off double teams. The offense plays with speed and pressure instead of slow reads and overthinking. Fox collapses defenses. Wemby finishes them. The combination gives San Antonio something deadly: organized impatience. They can play with pace without playing recklessly.

Part of what makes this team so dangerous is that the wins are never carried by one player. In the win over Houston, San Antonio scored 121 points not by relying on shooting variance, but by winning every effort category: 15 offensive rebounds, 33 second-chance points, and 18 made threes. Harrison Barnes provided veteran spacing, Julian Champagnie stretched the floor with movement shooting, Keldon Johnson created extra possessions through offensive rebounding, and Castle handed out 14 assists against New Orleans without ever losing composure. The system gives everyone a job, and everyone knows exactly how to execute that job.

The Wembanyama–Fox pairing is where things get scary. Before Fox returned, the Spurs were already winning without a true point guard. Castle looked solid, but late-game execution wobbled because no one could consistently close possessions. Fox fixes that single missing piece. He is a pick-and-roll initiator, a late-game scorer, and a tempo controller. Wembanyama already ranks in the ninety-third percentile as a roll man, and when you add a downhill guard who forces rotations and collapses entire defenses, the short roll becomes a cheat code. Fox is the accelerator. Wemby is the weapon.

What makes the Spurs even more impressive is that they don’t need a blockbuster trade or another star to stay on top. They just need to keep their identity: keep the ball movement, keep dominating the effort categories, and keep embracing their modern shot profile. Forty-four percent of their shots are at the rim, 36 percent are threes, and only 6 percent come from the midrange. They win the math and they win the effort. That is how modern contenders are built. The only real upgrade needed is additional shooting insurance off the bench. They already have their closer.

The Spurs don’t look like a young team. They look like a system built for April. Wembanyama is learning how to dominate. Stephon Castle already knows how to run the show. De’Aaron Fox elevates the entire ceiling. The more they lean into their identity, the more dangerous they become.

For deeper breakdowns like this, check out the Spurs segment on the latest episode of Harrison Talks Pod, and if you want weekly basketball storytelling and analysis, subscribe here on Harrison Post Words.