The can’t-miss games of the Spurs’ 2024/25 season
The schedule is out, so it’s time to look at the most exciting matchups and project how the Spurs will fare in Victor Wembanyama’s second season.
The schedule is out. Which is the game you are looking forward to the most?
Marilyn Dubinski: It’s admittedly hard to look any further than the season opener at Dallas not because of anything having to do with the game — I personally foresee a loss just because the home team tends to win the opener, the Mavs will be coming off the high of raising a conference championship banner, they will have a motivated Klay Thompson — but just the thrill that the season will finally be here after another long offseason. Not to mention, we’ll get to see Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes and Stephon Castle in Spurs uniforms for the first time. Immediately after that, there’s both home games against the Rockets, which the Spurs better win because that rivalry is blossoming, they may matter towards seeding down the road, and I have to listen to their horrible announcers.
Mark Barrington: The interesting thing to me is how front-loaded the schedule is with Western Conference games. They play 11 games against west teams before they play Washington, and then 9 more teams from the west until they face Chicago on December 5. With so many young players and a new starting lineup, this is a pretty tough early gauntlet for the Silver and Black. The early game I’m most looking forward to is against Oklahoma City on October 30, as we see a rematch between a much-improved Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren in his second year (third if you count his redshirt campaign). At the beginning of last season, I think Chet outplayed Victor slightly, but it should be a different story this time.
Jacob Douglas: The last time Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo faced off it was a battle of titans. I’ll have Wemby’s block on the Greek Freak seared into my brain for years to come. I’m most looking forward to these two meeting again, this time in Milwaukee on January 8th. I’m surprised the game won’t be nationally broadcast after last year’s exciting game.
Jesus Gomez: I’m looking forward to the first matchup between Wembanyama and Alperen Sengun. Sengun dominated against the Spurs last season and I’m eager to see if Wemby can do a better job against a bigger and skilled post-up center, the archetype he seemed to struggle the most against on defense as a rookie. It will also be interesting to see whether he can make life difficult for the slower Sengun on the other end by drawing him out of the paint with his jumper. That first game against the Rockets should be fun.
Bill Huan: Christmas!! That game last year against New York was absolutely (Knicker)bonkers, and I’d be happy to watch a match that’s half as entertaining while nibbling on Santa’s cookies. The Knicks are also one of the teams I’m most looking forward to watching this season outside of San Antonio. Other than Brunson and maybe Randle, New York has essentially assembled a roster full of super role players instead of trying to get more stars, and it’ll be interesting to see how that works out in a much improved East.
The Spurs will play a total of 38 games in the Frost Bank Arena since they’ll play twice in Paris and host two games in Austin. Is growing the brand worth the competitive disadvantage in a season where San Antonio hopes for more wins?
Dubinski: From a competitive standpoint, I don’t think these games represent any disadvantages for the Spurs because Austin is basically a home game (and it will help divide up the Rodeo Road trip, which is nice), and the crowds in Paris will be rooting for Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, not the Pacers. Of course, it’s a different story from a monetary standpoint. That’s fewer home games for season ticket holders (although perhaps it was calculated into their package) and more notably, fewer games for arena employees to work and earn money.
International games happen every year but for the most part are one-offs for individual teams, so I don’t think much of that. However, it will be interesting to see how much longer the Austin games go on, especially assuming they build that new arena in the next decade. To get all parties fully on board to provide funding, they may need to return all home games to San Antonio and end the Austin series.
Barrington: The games in Paris will be de facto home games because of the Victor Wembanyama fans in France. Austin audiences are noted for being kind of too cool for school, but the Moody Center is something else, and I expect the fans to really get behind the team for the Austin games. I honestly think that having these games isn’t a competitive disadvantage at all for the team, as the fans will be excited, the arenas will be full, and there’s really no travel disadvantage, since both teams have to travel to the Paris games, and Austin isn’t far from home. The worst part of this for San Antonio fans is that they have four fewer games that they can attend in their home city, but most of them don’t mind sharing, as the Spurs are an international phenomenon now that they have the best basketball player in the world on their team.
Douglas: I don’t view either of those “neutral court” games as a disadvantage. The French National coach, Vincent Collet, basically called Wemby the Michael Jordan of France. Paris is going to feel like a home game, other than the international travel. Maybe Kevin Durant and the Suns get some fans in his return to Austin, but that should still be a crowd filled with Spurs fans.
The Spurs are an international brand. We are talking about two decades now of star players from other countries donning the Silver and Black. It makes a lot of sense that they would be the team to continue to be a liaison for the sport abroad. As for the Austin games, I’m somewhat neutral. Adding a few closer-to-home games during the rodeo road trip makes sense to me.
Gomez: It’s fine for now. It makes sense to go to Paris so that the home crowd can watch Wemby but I doubt the Spurs will be making yearly trips to Europe. The Spurs do seem committed to the Austin games but it shouldn’t be too hard to adjust to those. The issue this year is that the two Paris games and the two Austin games are somewhat close to each other and in the middle of a road-heavy stretch of the schedule. From January 23 to March 3, the Spurs will play just three games at the Frost Bank Arena. If they go on a losing streak, like a lot of young teams do away from home, it could be tough to turn the season around.
Huan: Given that this is only Wemby’s second season, growing the brand is absolutely worth a marginal competitive disadvantage. If anything, the Spurs will likely have the upper hand when playing in Paris because that’s Wemby’s kingdom, and it’ll put the organization on a global stage too. Being a “small market team,” growing the Spurs’ popularity can only be a good thing in a foreign-dominated era where many stars aren’t looking to just go to the New Yorks of the world.
What do you think the team’s record will be after 10 games?
Dubinski: It may depend on how seamlessly the newcomers fit in, but a 5-5 start with a one (or two) game buffer in either direction is very possible. There are some tough road games in there (at Dallas, OKC and Houston) that I don’t predict as wins, but both home games vs. Houston, both games against the Jazz (home and away) and at home vs. Portland are all on the winnable side. My main hope is that the Spurs will avoid a certain trend from the last two seasons: a quick start before embarking on a massive double-digit losing streak that extends into December and all but derails the rest of the season. Hopefully they now have the veterans and returning experience to avoid such a stretch.
Barrington: The first 10 games are against Western Conference teams, and Portland looks like the only one where I’d pencil in an easy win. The Spurs could easily have gone 2-8 against this gauntlet with last year’s lineup, but I’m going to be optimistic and say that the improved lineup sets them up for a 3-7 record in the first 10, maybe 4-6 if the bounces go their way. The Spurs will win one or two of the Houston games, possibly beat the Clippers and the Blazers, and maybe another upset win, like against OKC.
Douglas: A motivated Wembanyama and crew will hop out to an above .500 start – just barely. I have them at 6-4 to start the season. They’ll drop at least one game to Houston, but pick up two wins against a Utah Jazz team in basketball purgatory. Dallas, Minnesota and Oklahoma City are probably losses, but the Clippers and Trail Blazers games are winnable. Win two out of three against the rival Rockets and the Spurs should be in business for a much better start than last season.
Gomez: It’s a tricky question because this upcoming season the Spurs should have a puncher’s chance against anyone, thanks to a more mature Wemby and improved playmaking and shooting. Is 7-3 with a win over the non-contending West teams, plus an upset against a big hitter, out of the question? Not really, as long as things go to plan. But I’ll go with 4-6 as a more realistic scenario, with losses to the teams the Spurs are expected to struggle against and wins against the rest.
Huan: I think 4-6 is a fair guess. I’d favor the three games against Utah and Portland, and considering Wemby’s growth and other roster upgrades, it’s entirely reasonable to expect another win or two against the West’s elite.
