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 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. attends an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. (5) grabs a rebound as Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau (3) falls and UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. (2) and Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. (21) watch during the second half of the NCAA college basketball tournament national championship game at the Final Four, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Indianapolis.
Michael Conroy/AP
Tarris Reed Jr. believes he already shares a unique bond with his new teammates.
The rugged center from Connecticut and the Spurs are both coming off bitter championship losses that likely will sting for a long time.
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The Spurs, nearly two weeks removed from their five-game defeat to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, traded up to select Reed 26th overall Tuesday, nearly three months after the Huskies suffered a 69-63 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA national championship game.
“I know the feeling, working for something so hard, tirelessly, having sleepless nights about it, coming up short – it’s a different type of feeling,” Reed said Thursday at a press conference to introduce the four-member rookie class to the local media.
The silver lining for him and the Spurs is they will enter next season with chips on their shoulders while striving to make amends, the 22-year-old St. Louis native said.
Reed finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds against Michigan, where he played his first two seasons of college ball, but was 4 of 12 from the field as Connecticut suffered its first loss in seven title game appearances.
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The Spurs enjoyed double-digit leads in every game against the Knicks, including a 29-point cushion in Game 4 that New York overcame for the biggest comeback in Finals history.
“That was probably the toughest moment of my life, especially working so hard for it, not knowing that you can really get there and then you’re actually there, and then when you get there, you come up short,” Reed said. “It’s an undescribable feeling and it’s tough. It’s uncomfortable. It definitely sticks with me a little bit to this day, I’m not going to lie.
“But, yeah, I feel like that’s going to be huge for us next year. (We) have that chip on our shoulder and (will be) wanting to really make things right.”
Plan for knee unclear: Jayden Quaintance said he didn’t have any firm details to offer regarding the Spurs’ plans to bolster his surgically repaired right knee.
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The forward said after the Spurs selected him 20th overall Tuesday night he faces another surgery after undergoing a procedure to repair a torn ACL in his right knee March 19, 2025 at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix while a freshman at Arizona State.
Quaintance, 18, missed most of last season with Kentucky while either recovering from the surgery or undergoing injury management.
“Don’t know anything concrete all the way up, but I know here (the Spurs) said their priority is making sure I’m 100% hopefully healthy,” he said. “So just trusting the medical staff here that they’re going to put me in the best position to be successful.”
Quaintance, who wore a long black sleeve on his right leg Thursday, said he hasn’t been told yet whether he will participate in Summer League.
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Rookie ready to learn from legends: Forward Maliq Brown said he is eager to pick the brains of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili after seeing the Spurs greats at the practice facility Thursday morning.
“Just asking them different questions, not just about basketball, but about being a human on and off the court, just trying to be a better person,” said the 22-year-old Brown, who the Spurs selected in the second round Wednesday after he starred as a senior at Duke last season.
The Spurs aren’t wasting any time when it comes to getting their 2026 rookie class involved in their community outreach work. The four rookies are scheduled to meet with youngsters at the Spurs Sports Academy summer camp Friday at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Lob dunks planned: Undersized guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said he has already envisioned feeding Victor Wembanyama for lob dunks.
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The Spurs selected the 6-foot, 180-pound Tennessee alumnus in the second round Wednesday.
“Yeah, for sure. Just throw it up there,” Gillespie, 22, said. “That’s what it looks like.”
Gillespie averaged a career-high 5.4 assists as a senior last season.
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