{"id":870839,"date":"2026-08-28T00:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T00:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/870839\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T00:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T00:22:12","slug":"the-spurs-built-the-nbas-most-loaded-young-core-and-they-werent-quiet-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/870839\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spurs built the NBA’s most loaded young core and they weren’t quiet about it"},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS Sports recently ranked Victor Wembanyama and either Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper<\/a> as the NBA’s best duo. You won’t get any argument out of Spurs Nation on that front. The Slash Bros are stars in the making, and the Alien is, indeed, Him.<\/p>\n

But that invites the next question: what happens if you just expand the comparison instead of introducing an either\/or? San Antonio can make the legitimate case for the league’s best trio and even best four-man core in the league, and it’s not like this came out of nowhere. <\/p>\n

Wemby, Castle, Harper, and De’Aaron Fox all have All-Star-level ceilings, but they were also all top-five draft picks in their classes. How many other teams can boast the same?<\/p>\n

The Spurs have the trio case by a hair<\/p>\n

Let’s make Vic and Steph the anchor duo here\u2014they do have the best nickname. Now, add Harper to the bunch, and you’re introducing a crazy triple threat with a mix of scoring, defense, power, clutch ability, and fearlessness. Each player showed up in huge moments during the playoffs, so those things can’t really be argued. <\/p>\n

Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, is a first-team All-NBA superstar with seemingly no ceiling. Castle, with 18 PPG, 5 RPG, and 6 APG in the postseason, was the Rookie of the Year and is one of the league’s best defenders. Harper, a postseason breakout who was so good that everyone is arguing he should start over<\/a> a former number one option who just made the All-Star team in February of the same year.<\/p>\n

The only real competition for the top trio is in OKC. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are formidable, but if most people were asked which trinity they’d take, most of them would choose the Spurs’ bunch. <\/a><\/p>\n

Is that partially or maybe largely because Wemby is so ridiculous? Probably. However, the skills of the other two are undeniable, and trying to grab the clear-cut best player out of the bunch should be considered a sound strategy. <\/p>\n

Nobody is remotely close to the Spurs at four deep<\/p>\n

Put Fox in there as the fourth name, and San Antonio has four guys who carry real cases for stardom. Most contenders can’t match them talent-wise past their top two or three. Swipa is a 2x All-Star and a Clutch Player of the Year winner. <\/p>\n

Sacramento’s 2023 postseason appearance was their first in nearly 20 years, and the Spurs’ $229 million man led them there. He was the third option last season and still managed to post nearly 20 points a game on 48% from the field. <\/p>\n

Philly would be the only team you’d consider after LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joined Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but this group is too old and injury-prone to be taken at the top. They’ll have to prove they can coexist and stay on the floor. <\/p>\n

There just aren’t many teams that can actually enter this conversation. That’s a product of the punitive CBA apron rules. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Spurs have been navigating them perfectly while drafting and developing well. Those organizational traits put them in a position to claim the best trio or four-man group in the sport, and it should lead them to another championship.<\/p>\n

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