{"id":674966,"date":"2026-05-16T15:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/674966\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:38:10","slug":"spurs-arent-thinking-about-being-ahead-of-schedule-theyre-just-focused-on-the-conference-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/674966\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs aren’t thinking about being ahead of schedule. They’re just focused on the conference finals."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a score with guard De’aaron Fox (4) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoffs series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoffs series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, right, greet following Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoffs series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson watches from the bench during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoffs series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a score with guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoffs series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 The San Antonio Spurs weren’t supposed to be this far along at this point in their development, entering the Western Conference finals with confidence, momentum \u2014 and just about everything they need on the court except for significant NBA playoffs experience.<\/p>\n

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The Spurs aren’t concerned about everybody else’s timeline. They’ve got another series to play soon against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and they’re aiming to win it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI understand the general expectations of what we were supposed to do in October aren\u2019t necessarily aligned with where we\u2019re at right now,” coach Mitch Johnson said after the 139-109 romp past the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night that finished the second-round series in six games. \u201cWe never talked about what we were going to be or what we were going to do. We just knew that we had a lot of potential and we were going to try to be the best team we could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drafting Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in 2023 was the most obvious step toward this moment for a proud franchise that collective five NBA championships over coach Gregg Popovich’s storied tenure from 1997-2024, but the way they’ve assembled a strong, smart, speedy and slick-shooting backcourt around him has proven to be a masterpiece in roster building.<\/p>\n

Stephon Castle, who led the Spurs with 32 points and 11 rebounds in Game 6 and went 5 for 7 from 3-point range, was the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft. Dylan Harper, whose energy off the bench was a consistent edge in the series, was the second overall pick in the 2025 draft. Six of their nine primary rotation players were first-round draft picks by the Spurs.<\/p>\n

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Then there was the trade for two-time All-Star De’Aaron Fox last year, adding a steady veteran for Castle and Harper to emulate.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re as coachable as anybody we have,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey listen when we tell them stuff, and they get on the court and they\u2019re just like attack dogs and they just go. I think the one thing I can give them both credit on and praise them is they don\u2019t make a lot of repeatable mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves had far more collective experience in the playoffs and overall over the Spurs, but they were the ones who made far more of those correctible gaffes. The younger Spurs looked like they had the better on-court habits, starting and ending with their determination and ability to get out on the fast break and beat the Timberwolves back in transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a really talented group that plays together and plays very selfless, and we\u2019re all young,\u201d Castle said. “I think we can beat anybody on any given night. Us just being very selfless in the way we move the ball, it\u2019s just fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wembanyama in particular matured a lot within the series, after his ejection early in Game 4 for elbowing Naz Reid in the neck. He came back with a measured vengeance in Game 5 and was content to play a supporting role in Game 6 while Castle and Fox did most of the damage for a machine-like offense that scored 36, 38 and 36 points over the first three quarters.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt feels like it\u2019s connection between each other in the first minutes of the game,\u201d said Wembanyama, who had 19 points in 27 minutes in Game 6. \u201cThis team, whenever we\u2019ve hit first and taken an early lead, we\u2019ve beat them. Really, whenever we beat them it was by like 30 every time. The way they play also makes it that they get tired because they play so physical, and we try to beat them with pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though this group has logged only 11 playoff games together, the Spurs clearly don’t look out of their element on the big stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nature of the playoffs makes it that we\u2019re going to play against better and better teams. There was already a leap between the first and second round. It\u2019s going to be probably an even bigger leap between the second and third,” Wembanyama said. “We\u2019ve got guidance. We\u2019ve got a good coaching staff \u2014 the best, actually. So we can trust them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting on Monday night in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust the words \u2018conference finals\u2019 is crazy. It\u2019s like something I heard my whole life, and now being in it is just special,\u201d Wembanyama said. ” It\u2019s hopefully many more conference finals to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

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