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Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2025-26 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, no players who were traded away, and none of the deep bench centers, since they were both irrelevant and are now all gone).
Devin Vassell
2025-26 stats: 67 games, 30 MPG, 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 38.4 3FG%
Contract Status: 3 years, $80 million remainingAge: 25 (26 in 9 days!)
At first glance, these numbers may look low for Devin Vassell. It’s the fewest points per game he’s scored since his second season in the league and a seemingly big drop after averaging 18 ppg over the last three seasons. However, not only has his role changed, but it’s also worth taking a moment to remember back to a year ago, when questions loomed about his offensive consistency (especially in a non-dominant role), tendency to disappear for long stretches, and untapped defensive potential.
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Fast-forward to today, and not only did Vassell put all those concerns to rest this season, but he did it despite moving from second, sometimes third to fourth option in the starting unit. Part of it could be that the “lesser” role lowered expectations, or his flashier teammates made us forget about him at times, but the fact remains that he filled the exact role the Spurs needed him to on both ends of the court, and he did it on a consistent basis.
Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle may have been ahead of him in the pecking order, but Vassell was the perfect relief valve for when the defense over-committed to them or the offense broke down, in part because he possesses something much of the roster lacks: a solid midrange and pull-up game. He was the best player in the main rotation shooting 50% from from 10-16 ft, he doesn’t have to get to the hoop or be open from three to score, and he can create his own shot in a pinch. Even so, the majority of his shots came from three, where defenders often forget about him, and he made them…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2025-26-spurs-player-reviews-133000776.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-14 13:30:00
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