{"id":777241,"date":"2026-07-03T21:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777241\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T21:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:29:10","slug":"how-a-teddy-bear-gave-tarris-reed-jr-glimpse-of-future-as-a-spur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777241\/","title":{"rendered":"How a teddy bear gave Tarris Reed Jr. glimpse of future as a Spur"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr., right, shakes hands with his new rookie teammate Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 A decade before the Spurs went out of their way to deliberately pick\u00a0Tarris Reed Jr. in the NBA draft, Reed accidentally picked the Spurs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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The 12-year-old Tarris was determined to walk away with \u2026 anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow, some way I won,\u201d said Reed, now a Spurs rookie center.<\/p>\n

Reed couldn\u2019t have known it then, but the stuffed animal he pulled from the machine would one day predict his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the Spurs teddy bear,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

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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\u2019 NBA draft watch party last month at the family home in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Damn, this is really crazy,\u2019\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s cosmic connection to the silver and black came to a head Friday, when \u2014 like that long-ago won teddy bear \u2014 he slipped on a Spurs jersey to make his Summer League debut at the California Classic in San Francisco against the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n

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\"UConn<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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

San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr. attends an introductory news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"San<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"San<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News\"UConn<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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

A bruising, 6-foot-11, 245-pounder from the University of Connecticut, Reed himself is no cuddly plush toy.<\/p>\n

The Spurs drafted the 22-year-old to deliver what he calls an \u201cugly, gritty\u201d style of play.<\/p>\n

Hard picks. Tough rebounding. Rugged rim-protecting. A physical edge.<\/p>\n

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Early in summer practices, assistant coach Corliss Williamson \u2014 whose well-earned nickname as a player was \u201cBig Nasty\u201d \u2014 sees an heir apparent to that moniker in the Spurs\u2019 new rookie.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s got a big body,\u201d said Williamson, who is helming the Summer Spurs in San Francisco and Las Vegas. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed is one of four draft picks the Spurs made last month. Three are playing with the Summer Spurs.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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READ MORE: Carter Bryant,\u00a0Tarris Reed Jr. among Spurs to watch in NBA Summer League<\/a><\/p>\n

Tennessee guard Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie and Duke forward Maliq Brown, a pair of prospects the Spurs grabbed in the second round, will have their chance to shine.<\/p>\n

For the three healthy incoming rookies, the California Classic represents the first opportunity to show their wares at anything approaching an NBA level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese young guys have had good college careers and we had a good season this year for us as the Spurs,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As one of the oldest players in this year\u2019s draft class, Reed \u2014 who played two seasons at Michigan before completing his collegiate career with two seasons at Connecticut \u2014 arrives more prepared to contribute than most.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Elvin Hayes and Ohio State\u2019s Jerry Lucas, a pair of Naismith Hall of Famers, are the others.<\/p>\n

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\"Play\"Why<\/p>\n

Jayden Quaintance might be one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in this year’s NBA Draft \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

Spurs general manager Brian Wright is optimistic Reed \u2014 and eventually Quaintance \u2014 will add a formidable presence to a frontcourt that already features Victor Wembanyama, the NBA\u2019s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re two really good players that add dynamics and elements to our team that we really value,\u201d Wright said. \u201dWe’re a fast-paced, fast-playing team. In order to do that, you\u2019ve got to get stops. You\u2019ve got to rebound. you got to protect the rim and play off your defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Reed\u2019s \u201cugly, gritty\u201d approach to the game isn\u2019t flashy. He might not jump off the television screen to casual viewers of Summer League.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like that’s what helped us win (at UConn), man,\u201d Reed said of his penchant for doing dirty work. \u201cThe part of the game you might not get a lot of credit for \u2014 my screening, my rebounding, my physicality, just being just a force down low on both sides of the court \u2014 if that\u2019s what I got to do to win, sign me up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed has long dreamed of bringing his blue-collar ethos to the NBA.<\/p>\n

Thanks to an Orlando claw machine that somehow doubled as a fortune teller, he will get to do so as a San Antonio Spur.<\/p>\n

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Some things, it seems, really are meant to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s the grace of God right there, man,\u201d Reed said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr., right, shakes hands with his new rookie teammate Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-777241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}