DALLAS – Kelly Olynyk’s impact on the San Antonio Spurs this season probably shouldn’t be measured in minutes.
The former Gonzaga big man, who has played more than 800 NBA games, has been a crucial resource in the continuing development of the rising Spurs and their star, Victor Wembanyama.
“Kelly’s been a very unique perspective because he’s been around this league and seen the real NBA,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Olynyk, who has played for eight different teams over 12-plus NBA seasons. “We have quite a few guys that have been with just our team and sometimes your perspective, when it’s that narrow, is misleading at times. For Kelly, who’s been part of teams that have won at a high level and that have lost a lot of games, his perspective has been invaluable.”
Through Sunday’s All-Star break, Olynyk had played in just 30 of the Spurs’ 54 games, averaging 9.5 minutes. But Wembanyama, the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft who has quickly emerged as one of the league’s top young players, says Olynyk’s impact goes way beyond time on the court.
“The remarks he makes, especially defensively, he’s got good guidance,” Wembanyama said after a Feb. 5 win in Dallas. “He sees things that I personally don’t always get right away. It’s great I can trust what he’s going to tell me.”
Embracing his role as a mentor has come naturally, says Olynyk, adding it keeps him in the game he loves.
“Yeah, I think it’s exactly that,” Olynyk said. “Coming from the player’s perspective that doesn’t have the physical, athletic attributes that he (Wembanyama) has, but I have a high IQ for the game and see a lot of different things happening on the floor.
“Just trying to show him what I see and how he can make his life easier because he’s obviously uber-talented and can do really hard things out there that nobody else can do. Sometimes to be great, you’ve got to do the common things uncommonly well. He has the ability to do that at a high level.”
Graduating from GU in 2013, Olynyk came off a first-team All-American season that saw him drafted 13th by the Dallas Mavericks and immediately traded to the Boston Celtics, where he established himself as a reliable, versatile big.
Since then, he’s also played for Miami, Houston, Detroit, Utah, Toronto – his hometown – and New Orleans before signing with San Antonio in July.
“It’s a different culture (in San Antonio). It’s very out of the way, out of the limelight, out of the media,” Olynyk said. “They stay in their own lane, but they do it really well. It’s a great organization that has all the tools in place. They know how to win. They know what it takes to win and they do it their own way. That’s special. When you’re down there and part of it, you realize there is a certain standard they hold themselves to and they do it well.”
It’s likely how he felt about playing at Gonzaga, where Olynyk returned in 2022 to see his No. 13 jersey raised to the rafters at McCarthey Athletic Center, becoming the fourth Bulldog to be so recognized.
Since Olynyk’s NBA arrival, there have been 23 additional players with Gonzaga ties who found time in the league, a trend that brings a big smile to his face.
“In the past, there was Rob (Sacre) and Adam Morrison. I was one of the next guys who was a first-round, lottery guy,” he said. “I guess Austin Daye (is another one).
“We started a trend, especially with the transfer guys redshirting and doing that kind of thing,” Olynyk said. “To see the amount of talent they’ve been turning out, All-Star level talent like (Damontas) Sabonis, now Chet (Holmgren) is a first-time All-Star, Jalen Suggs has been unbelievable down in Orlando.
“Even unbelievable role players like Rui (Hachimura) has really found a rhythm (with the Los Angeles Lakers), Corey (Kispert) was good in Washington and now he’s got a new home (in Atlanta). Even Brandon Clarke, before his injuries, was playing really well. Andrew (Nembhard) has been unbelievable in Indiana. There’s a lot of guys who are contributing at a high level in the pros. It’s good to see.”
The latest Zag to make his mark in the NBA is Andrew’s brother Ryan, who went undrafted last summer but earned a two-way contract with Dallas and has played well enough that his deal is expected to be converted into a standard contract.
Olynyk has seen the younger Nembhard several times this season and loves how well he has played as a rookie with the Spurs’ in-state rivals from Dallas.
“(He’s) very under the radar. He plays at his own pace,” Olynyk said. “He’s confident, plays both ends of the ball, he knows what he does and goes out and does it.
“You can see how much he likes to play basketball. He loves to hoop. He’s a hoop junkie and just goes out and has fun. It’s a testament to his family, his upbringing and where he’s come from and how much he knows the game and has a feel for the game, loves the game. It’s cool to see Dallas giving a kid like him a shot and he’s capitalized on it, especially early in the season he had a string of games where he was unbelievable.”
Like so many former Gonzaga legends, the affable Canada native returns to Spokane whenever possible to rekindle those memories.
“Every now and then (Coach Few and I reconnect), a text here and there,” he said. “Obviously, when I’ve been back the past few summers, he’s been there. It’s been great to follow the Zags and catch up with him from time to time and the assistants as well.”
Now 34, Olynyk – who survived the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline – is focused on continuing to help the Spurs, who have the second best record in the Western Conference at 38-16 – three games behind Holmgren and defending champion Oklahoma City.
“I’ve been traded five times the last two years,” Olynyk said. “(I look at being traded as) new opportunities, go out there and make the most of it, you’re still blessed to wake up and play the game you love every single day no matter where that is.
“I tell these young guys sometimes a change of scenery is fun. Fun to go to a new place and meet new people, grow your network. You never know where life’s going to take you and it’s fun to see the other side sometimes.”
Could life eventually take Olynyk to a full-time place on the bench once his playing days come to an end?
“I tell everybody I think I could be a good coach,” Olynyk said. “It would be an easy transition. It’s just the office work and everything else that goes with it (that people don’t realize). Maybe we’ll see. If the situation and the place is right, it’s something I would look into, but hard to say right now.”
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.