Spurs rookies Maliq Brown, from left, Jayden Quaintance, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Tarris Reed Jr. hold up their jerseys as they pose with Spurs general manager Brian Wright during an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in San Antonio.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Spurs rookie Jayden Quaintance talks with a small crowd of people following an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in San Antonio.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs rookie Jayden Quaintance shakes hands 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. 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 Jayden Quaintance answers questions 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 Jayden Quaintance receives a jersey from 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 Ja’Kobi Gillespie poses for a picture 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 Ja’Kobi Gillespie poses for a picture 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 general manager Brian Wright greets Spurs rookie 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
Spurs rookie Jayden Quaintance talks with a small crowd of people following an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in San Antonio.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
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 Antonio Spurs rookie Jayden Quaintance answers questions 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
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
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
San Antonio Spurs rookie Maliq Brown sits beside 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 Ja’Kobi Gillespie reacts to a question 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 Maliq Brown poses for a picture 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 Maliq Brown poses for a picture 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 Maliq Brown answers questions during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
For new Spurs rookie Jayden Quaintance, the first major decision of his NBA career came within minutes of arriving in San Antonio.
The 6-foot-9 center had worn No. 21 as a freshman at Arizona State. He wore No. 21 as a sophomore at Kentucky.
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He will not be allowed to don that number in San Antonio, seeing as it has been retired in the Frost Bank Center rafters for more than a decade.
Quaintance was wise enough to not to even bother asking about Tim Duncan’s hallowed digits.
“Nah, they cut that off quickly,” Quaintance, the 20th pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft, said with a laugh. “I’m not going to lie.”
The reason behind Quaintance’s long-standing Duncan fandom is enough to make Spurs fans from Helotes to Hollywood Park feel positively Paleozoic.
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“He was my grandfather’s favorite player,” Quaintance said.
Quaintance eventually settled on No. 22, a number once sported by such Spurs luminaries as Tiago Splitter, Malaki Branham and Frank Brickowski.
With four new rookies introduced at the club’s gleaming northwest side headquarters Thursday – Quaintance, former Connecticut center Tarris Reed Jr, Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Duke forward Maliq Brown – one thing became crystal clear.
These are not your father’s Spurs. In the case of the 18-year-old Quaintance, the youngest player in the 2026 draft pool, they might not even be his grandfather’s Spurs.
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Only one of the Spurs’ five championship banners – the one from 2014 – came after Quaintance was born.
As it was in Duncan’s sepia-toned heyday, however, the club’s incoming class of rookies touched down in San Antonio eager to join one of the best teams in the Western Conference coming off an NBA Finals berth.
Just as players once salivated at the chance to play alongside Duncan, the incoming cache of Spurs rookies can’t wait to take the floor with Victor Wembanyama.
“It’s such a legendary organization,” said the 6-foot-10 Reed, who the Spurs selected 26th overall after trading with Denver for an additional first-round pick. “So just to be here, it’s just a blessing.”
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Quaintance will have to wait a bit to make his mark.
His professional career is slated to get off to a slow start as he continues to recover from knee issues that limited his college career to 28 games – 24 at Arizona State and only four last season at Kentucky.
Quaintance is not expected to play for the Spurs’ Summer League squad next month as he awaits a final procedure to clean up the meniscus in his right knee, which suffered a torn ACL in 2024.
One of the items on Quaintance’s welcome-to-San-Antonio to-do list was to meet with the team’s medical staff to begin to plot a path back onto the court.
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“I don’t know anything concrete,” Quaintance said, “but I know here they said their priority is making sure than I’m 100% healthy.”
After picking up a pair of big men in the first round Tuesday, the Spurs added Gillespie and Brown in the second round Wednesday.
The Spurs used the No. 42 overall pick on Gillespie, a 6-foot-1 First-Team All-SEC selection as a senior at Tennessee. He averaged 18.4 points and 5.4 assists, while helping the Volunteers reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament.
The club spent the No. 44 pick on Brown, a 6-8 forward whose defensive presence proved key in propelling Duke’s run to the Elite Eight, where the Blue Devils lost to Reed’s UConn squad.
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Less than 24 hours after hearing their names called on the second night of the NBA draft, Gillespie and Brown were in San Antonio on Thursday to tour their new digs.
“It’s been a dream come true,” said Brown, 22. “Last night was a surreal moment. I’m still just soaking it all in.”
Both of the Spurs’ second-rounders are likely to spend the majority of their rookie seasons in the G League.
That dampened neither players’ excitement Thursday.
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“I’m just super honored and glad that I’m here,” the 22-year-old Gillespie said. “(I know) how good of an organization this is and I knew it’s something I would want to be a part of.”
Of the four draftees unveiled Thursday, Reed might be the best equipped to make an NBA impact as a rookie.
As a senior, the 22-year-old Reed used his toughness and 7-foot-4 wingspan to anchor a rugged UConn defense last season, averaging 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and two blocks while shooting 61% from the floor.
His magnum opus came in the first round of the NCAA tournament, when he scored 31 points and pulled down 27 rebounds in a win over Furman.
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Billed as a player who enjoys doing dirty work, Reed’s defensive presence, solid screen-setting and penchant for pounding the glass might quickly lead to playing time in San Antonio.
“If that’s what I’ve got to do to win, sign me up,” Reed said. “Ten out of 10, I’ll do it every time.”
Reed’s fellow first-round rookie cannot wait to show his stuff, too.
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Now that Quaintance has his number situation sorted, he is looking forward to giving his grandfather a new favorite NBA player.
“I want to be an All-Star level player,” Quaintance said. “Just be the best version of myself that I can be and maximize whatever potential I have.”