The San Antonio Spurs have once again emerged as a force to be reckoned with, reaching the 2026 NBA Finals after six years without a playoff berth and nine years without a series win. A storied franchise that had previously never missed the playoffs in back-to-back years has come out of their worst stretch in team history with one of the youngest rosters to ever reach the Finals.
While their Finals opposition, the New York Knicks, have successfully relied on major trades and the absolute bargain that was the free-agent signing of Jalen Brunson, the Spurs are nearly the polar opposite. Aside from last season’s De’Aaron Fox trade, their core pieces have come through the draft.
The NBA Draft lottery has repeatedly broken the Spurs’ way
It’s hard for the rest of the league not to be envious looking at San Antonio’s last three first-round picks:
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2023: Victor Wembanyama, No. 1 overall
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2024: Stephon Castle, No. 4 overall
Wemby by himself is franchise changing, and he’s on his way to being one of the greats. Castle and Harper already look like ideal guards to pair him with for years to come.
Famously (and, for conspiratorial-minded NBA fans, suspiciously), moving up in the lottery has been a rite of passage for the Spurs. Every time the Spurs have had top eight odds, they’ve moved up, including for Tim Duncan and David Robinson at No. 1 overall. The Spurs rose two spots to win the Wemby sweepstakes, improved their position by one for Castle, and vaulted six places to the No. 2 pick off a 34-48 season to get Harper. Not a bad consolation for narrowly losing out on Cooper Flagg.
File this stretch away in the history books, because this trio may be the last of its kind.
NBA Draft lottery reform makes it impossible to replicate the Spurs
In a supposed effort to curb tanking/reduce the number of G-League players getting significant minutes in March and April, the NBA sought major reform to its draft lottery. Last week, they approved something so convoluted that it makes the salary cap rules seem easy to comprehend.
Among the many changes set for the 2027 through 2029 drafts, no team is allowed to have the number one overall pick in back-to-back years, nor can it pick in the top five in three consecutive years. Had this been implemented sooner, Harper would’ve never been a Spur.
There’s another aspect to this rule that is already impacting a recent trade:
These restrictions will apply only to each team’s own pick without regard to whether that pick has been retained by the team or traded to (and thus held by) another team.
The Memphis Grizzlies, who themselves are picking third overall in this month’s draft, hold the most favorable of the 2027 first-round pick from the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, or Cleveland Cavaliers, as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr trade. Utah picks second this year and picked fifth last year, so if the Jazz end up in the lottery again next season, the pick is ineligible to be higher than sixth. Memphis, of course, was the lone team to vote against the reform.
In effect, the NBA could end up punishing teams, whether they’re “tanking” or not, who’ve acquired potentially high-value draft picks through trades.
It’s not just high lottery picks that have made the Spurs a powerhouse again
Sixth Man of the Year winner Keldon Johnson, rookie Carter Bryant, and starting forward Devin Vassell were also first-rounders, but those three were respectively picked 29th, 14th, and 11th overall. Johnson and Vassell endured the back-to-back 60-loss seasons, as did other starting forward Julian Champagnie, who was claimed off waivers when the Philadelphia 76ers desperately needed to open up a roster space so that Mac McClung could be in the dunk contest. Champagnie is one of their top three-point shooters and hasn’t missed a game in over two years.
Backup center Luke Kornet was San Antonio’s major free agent signing at just over $10 million/year, and while he may not be having a particularly strong postseason, his block on Isaiah Hartenstein in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals symbolically slammed Oklahoma City’s championship repeat shut. De’Aaron Fox has not been at his best in the playoffs and has otherwise been dealing with an ankle sprain, but the former Kings star has proven to be a stabilizing force at point guard. Stephon Castle’s early turnover issues against the Thunder as the primary ball-handler (20 TOs in Games 1-2) significantly subsided after Fox returned in Game 3, after which he had just 12 TOs combined.
The Spurs are well coached, seemingly unflappable, and the roster is poised to get better with more experience and veterans like Kelly Olynyk and Harrison Barnes eventually off the books. It also helps a hell of a lot when the ping pong balls bounce your way and you can land franchise cornerstones at three positions. Starting next year, the new rules will see to it that no team can even have a shot at the same good fortune as San Antonio.
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