San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr., right, shakes hands with his new rookie teammate Ja’Kobi Gillespie during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
SAN FRANCISCO — A decade before the Spurs went out of their way to deliberately pick Tarris Reed Jr. in the NBA draft, Reed accidentally picked the Spurs.
The story dates to a childhood trip to Orlando, Fla., Reed took with his family. The clan stopped at an NBA-themed restaurant, and young Tarris found himself face-to-face with an arcade-style claw machine packed with teddy bears bedecked in the uniform of almost every team in the league.
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The 12-year-old Tarris was determined to walk away with … anything.
“Somehow, some way I won,” said Reed, now a Spurs rookie center.
Reed couldn’t have known it then, but the stuffed animal he pulled from the machine would one day predict his future.
“I had the Spurs teddy bear,” Reed said.
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Reed gave the bear to his younger brother, Trevor, who kept it on his headboard for the next 10 years until his mother, Darlene, dusted it off for Tarris’ NBA draft watch party last month at the family home in St. Louis.
When the Spurs traded into the back end of the first round to select Reed with the No. 26 pick, it felt like the universe smiling and nodding.
“I was like, ‘Damn, this is really crazy,’” Reed said.
Reed’s cosmic connection to the silver and black came to a head Friday, when — like that long-ago won teddy bear — he slipped on a Spurs jersey to make his Summer League debut at the California Classic in San Francisco against the Miami Heat.
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UConn forward Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after the team’s win against Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Abbie Parr/AP
San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr. attends an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr. poses for pictures with Spurs general manager Brian Wright during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr. answers questions during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
UConn forward Tarris Reed Jr. (5) shoots over Duke forward Maliq Brown (6) as Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) looks on during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Abbie Parr/AP
A bruising, 6-foot-11, 245-pounder from the University of Connecticut, Reed himself is no cuddly plush toy.
The Spurs drafted the 22-year-old to deliver what he calls an “ugly, gritty” style of play.
Hard picks. Tough rebounding. Rugged rim-protecting. A physical edge.
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Early in summer practices, assistant coach Corliss Williamson — whose well-earned nickname as a player was “Big Nasty” — sees an heir apparent to that moniker in the Spurs’ new rookie.
“He’s got a big body,” said Williamson, who is helming the Summer Spurs in San Francisco and Las Vegas. “He knows how to use his body well, knows angles, great footwork. So it’s been really good to see him come in with the physicality that he’s brought.”
Reed is one of four draft picks the Spurs made last month. Three are playing with the Summer Spurs.
Jayden Quaintance, a 6-10 strapper from Kentucky, has been ruled out of Summer League while managing a right knee injury that limited him to 28 games over two college seasons.
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READ MORE: Carter Bryant, Tarris Reed Jr. among Spurs to watch in NBA Summer League
Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Duke forward Maliq Brown, a pair of prospects the Spurs grabbed in the second round, will have their chance to shine.
For the three healthy incoming rookies, the California Classic represents the first opportunity to show their wares at anything approaching an NBA level.
“These young guys have had good college careers and we had a good season this year for us as the Spurs,” Williamson said. “So to get them acclimated to our culture, the things that we want to do, it’s definitely fun and exciting to get those guys ready.”
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As one of the oldest players in this year’s draft class, Reed — who played two seasons at Michigan before completing his collegiate career with two seasons at Connecticut — arrives more prepared to contribute than most.
As a senior at UConn, Reed averaged 14.7 points and nine rebounds, serving as the glue to a Dan Hurley-coached squad that made it to the NCAA national championship game before falling to Michigan.
Reed’s 31-point, 27-rebound masterpiece against Furman in the first round of the tournament proved one of the greatest performances in the modern history of March Madness.
He was the first player in 58 years to post a 30-25 line in an NCAA tournament game, and one of only three all time. Houston’s Elvin Hayes and Ohio State’s Jerry Lucas, a pair of Naismith Hall of Famers, are the others.
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Jayden Quaintance might be one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in this year’s NBA Draft — and the Spurs were willing to bet on the upside. On the latest episode of our Spurs Insider podcast, we discuss why San Antonio took the gamble on the 18-year-old big man. Watch the full episode on our channel.
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Spurs general manager Brian Wright is optimistic Reed — and eventually Quaintance — will add a formidable presence to a frontcourt that already features Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
“They’re two really good players that add dynamics and elements to our team that we really value,” Wright said. ”We’re a fast-paced, fast-playing team. In order to do that, you’ve got to get stops. You’ve got to rebound. you got to protect the rim and play off your defense.”
Indeed, Reed’s “ugly, gritty” approach to the game isn’t flashy. He might not jump off the television screen to casual viewers of Summer League.
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One of the things the Spurs love about Reed is his complete disinterest in doing anything other than winning basketball games.
“I feel like that’s what helped us win (at UConn), man,” Reed said of his penchant for doing dirty work. “The part of the game you might not get a lot of credit for — my screening, my rebounding, my physicality, just being just a force down low on both sides of the court — if that’s what I got to do to win, sign me up.”
Reed has long dreamed of bringing his blue-collar ethos to the NBA.
Thanks to an Orlando claw machine that somehow doubled as a fortune teller, he will get to do so as a San Antonio Spur.
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Some things, it seems, really are meant to be.
“That’s the grace of God right there, man,” Reed said. “It’s just a blessing.”