One day after the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs officially introduced their newest draft picks Thursday afternoon at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
The four picks are already accustomed to pressure. All of them either played at college basketball blue bloods or were forces on teams who came mere heartbeats away from winning an NCAA championship.
Nothing, however, can match the stress of joining a young team wanting more after losing to the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals.
“That’s what helped us win: going all the way to the national championship,” Spurs rookie and ex-UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. said. “I really had to embrace that (gritty) part of the game where you might not get a lot of credit for. … If that’s what I got to do to win, sign me up. Ten out of 10, I’ll do it every time.”
Defense rules draft nights
The Spurs had a consistent theme running throughout its draft philosophy this year: defense, defense and more defense.
Before the team traded up to acquire Reed at the No. 26 spot Tuesday night, San Antonio selected Kentucky’s 6-foot-10 forward Jayden Quaintance with the 20th overall pick.
Despite playing only four games with the Wildcats due to injury in 2025-26, he averaged 2.6 blocks per game in 2024-25 as a freshman at Arizona State.
“Being a young player myself, I’ll be able to relate to a lot of people on the team. It’s going to be fun,” Quaintance, who is 18, said. “I feel like I’ll be able to fit in here really well.”
On Night 2 of the draft Wednesday, San Antonio addressed its backcourt for the first time by selecting Tennessee guard and SEC Newcomer of the Year Ja’Kobi Gillespie with the 42nd pick.
Gillespie, who is 6 feet tall, draws inspiration from another 6-foot guard: former Spur Chris Paul.
“I’ve always been the smallest player, so I think just growing up like that kind of got me ready to play at a higher level,” Gillespie said. “Having heart. You’ve got to be a little strong.”
Two picks later, the Spurs went looking for another intense defender. They landed on Maliq Brown, a Duke wingman who earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards this past season.
“Defense is always where I’ve hanged my hat at,” Brown said Thursday. “I’ve been always paying attention to Spurs culture and the way they play basketball. They’re a very gritty team. … I definitely can fit in with that.”
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