Shock! It’s draft season!
It was exhausting to deal with the NBA Draft when the San Antonio Spurs had been enjoying within the NBA Finals. However slowly, because the collection began to slide, I discovered myself heading over to YouTube to take a look at the prospects who might be in San Antonio’s vary come draft day. Now, with simply mere days separating us from the NBA Draft, it’s time to do a full-blown deep dive into who the Spurs could choose on June twenty third.
In previous years, there have been months with out Spurs basketball the place I might watch hours of video games to atone for who San Antonio ought to draft. This yr’s playoff run made that just about not possible. So, like one among my favourite basketball commentators of all time, Invoice Simmons, I studied the 2026 Draft prospects extensively on YouTube. With little time to do particular person posts on all the prospects, they’ll be lumped collectively on this article on first-round targets.
The Spurs have the twentieth, thirty fifth, forty second, and forty fourth picks within the draft. It’s extremely unlikely they’ll use all 4 of these picks, so anticipate some trades up or out of the draft. There isn’t any assure that they’ll even choose within the second spherical, as these picks can typically be traded for money. It might make sense for them to search for somebody with their first spherical choice. The twentieth choose presents a variety of outcomes. Previous draftees in that spot embody Jaylon Tyson, Jalen Johnson, Matisse Thybulle, Caris LeVert, Malaki Branham, Harry Giles III, and Bruno Caboclo.
On this explicit draft, it appears unlikely that San Antonio will have the ability to choose a participant prepared to start out or play a major position as a rookie with the twentieth choose. A number of gamers have the potential to grow to be high quality position gamers and fill some gaps on San Antonio’s roster, however followers ought to mood their expectations on the standard of prospects the Spurs can herald with this choose (until they commerce up or somebody falls).
With the scene setting out of the way in which, let’s check out the prospects San Antonio might think about.
Yaxel Lendeborg, 6’9” PF/SF, Michigan
30.2 minutes, 15.1 factors, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 51.5% capturing, 37.2% three, 82.4% free throw
San Antonio’s primary want this summer time is an enormous ahead/wing who can play inside and outside. Somebody who can bang with bigs inside and rebound to assist Victor Wembanyama within the paint, whereas with the ability to house the ground. These gamers don’t develop on bushes. On this draft, Lendeborg is perhaps essentially the most gettable prospect with these expertise.
If the Spurs commerce up for anybody within the draft, it must be Lendeborg. Sure, he’ll be 24 when he performs his first NBA sport, however his talent degree and improvement over his collegiate profession give him a excessive flooring with room to develop. Lendeborg might step in on day one and be a bodily, slashing large man who might assistance on the boards, defend inside and outside, and house the ground. He suits like a glove in San Antonio and is likely one of the few prospects within the draft who might step in and play a task on day one.
Morez Johnson Jr., 6’9” PF/C, Michigan
25.1 minutes, 13.1 factors, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 62.3% capturing, 34.3% three, 78.2% free throw
This yr’s Michigan roster was stacked with NBA publish gamers. It wouldn’t be a shock if the defending Nationwide Champions noticed three bigs drafted within the lottery this yr. A lot of that’s because of Johnson Jr.‘s ascent over the previous few months.
Johnson Jr. would give San Antonio quite a lot of the flexibility they want within the frontcourt. He’s an imposing bodily and athletic presence who can gobble up boards inside and is fast sufficient to protect on the perimeter. He’ll have the ability to step into the league and compete on the offensive glass and function a rim-runner offensively as a rookie. He has a growing bounce shot that might flip him from an undersized hustle large man to a legit flooring spacing workhorse. Buying and selling up for Johnson Jr. would sign that the Spurs imagine in his bounce shot and that he might play alongside Wembanyama or again him up.
Hannes Steinbach, 6’10” PF/C, Washington
34.6 minutes, 18.5 factors, 11.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 57.7% capturing, 34% three, 75.9% free throw
San Antonio could by no means lose the rebounding struggle ever once more in the event that they draft Steinbach to play alongside Wembanyama. The Washington freshman is a troublesome, large, rebounding ahead/heart who exploded onto the scene this yr. He’s adept at scoring across the basket, changing on 67.2% of his seems to be on the rim in half-court settings, and can get out and end performs in transition.
There are query marks round Steinbach’s defensive positioning. Is he fast sufficient to protect smaller fours? Can he defend the rim effectively sufficient to play heart? With Wembanyama, these defensive questions turn into much less necessary, particularly if he’s capable of do extra of the soiled work on the glass and rating across the basket. The actual swing talent for Steinbach is his bounce shot. He confirmed indicators of capturing contact in his freshman season, hitting 18 threes at a 34% clip. If his bounce shot continues to develop, he’d be a perfect offensive match with Wembanyama as an enormous man who can rating inside and outside.
Cameron Carr, 6’5” Wing, Baylor
33.7 minutes, 18.9 factors, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 49.4% capturing, 37.4% three, 80.1% free throw
Just about each participant on this checklist fills the same area of interest: a flexible large/wing who can be a part of Wembanyama within the Spurs’ frontcourt. Carr will not be that, however he might be simply as invaluable. The 21-year-old wing is a knockdown three-point shooter with some loopy vertical pop. Go watch the way in which Carr leaps for dunks and blocks and inform me you aren’t impressed.
San Antonio wants extra flooring spacers in any respect positions. They had been over-reliant on Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell to hit open threes this season. Including Carr would give them one other shooter who would thrive in San Antonio’s up-tempo system. He can rating as an off-ball cutter who finishes athletically on the rim and defend off the ball as a defender who performs aggressively within the passing lanes and erases pictures on the rim along with his 42.5-inch vertical. Carr wants so as to add extra power and turn into a extra bodily participant total, however his mixture of capturing contact and athleticism would make him an thrilling addition to San Antonio’s rising younger core.
Allen Graves, 6’8” PF/C, Santa Clara
22.6 minutes, 11.8 factors, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 51.2% capturing, 41.3% three, 75% free throw
Graves finds himself mock-drafted to the Spurs greater than every other participant. He suits precisely what they want as a flexible ahead with good defensive instincts and a pleasant bounce shot. Graves must get extra bodily across the rim and discover a option to defend with out fouling, however his mixture of defensive playmaking, rebounding, flooring spacing, and passing makes him an intriguing guess for San Antonio at 20.
Graves doesn’t look like the kind of participant who can are available in and play a right away position on a title contender. He got here off the bench for a WCC faculty in his sole collegiate season and performed restricted minutes. The Spurs might develop him right into a long-term frontcourt associate with Wembanyama and use his versatility to offer them one other look of their big-man rotation.
Karim Lopez, 6’8” Wing, New Zealand Breakers
25.8 minutes, 11.9 factors, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 50.2% capturing, 32.6% three, 71.7% free throw
Lopez would finest be described as an influence participant. He makes use of his dimension, body, and physicality to attain on powerful drives within the half-court and transition. He does quite a lot of the issues San Antonio wants in a wing/ahead. He was pretty productive within the NBL, knowledgeable league in Australia and New Zealand, however his query marks on protection and from three-point vary have left him out of the lottery dialog.
Lopez confirmed flashes as a standstill shooter, however hit simply 32.6% from three in his second season within the NBL. Defensively, he struggles to remain in entrance of athletic offensive gamers, and he permits gamers to back-cut after ball-watching off the ball. If San Antonio had been to pick Lopez, they’d be betting on his bodily instruments and really feel for the sport, with the assumption that his bounce shot and protection can develop.
Jayden Quaintance, 6’9” C, Kentucky
(USING FRESHMAN YEAR STATS) 29.5 minutes, 9.4 factors, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 52.5% capturing, 18.8% three, 47.9% free throw
The concept of Quantaince is thrilling. He’s an athletic large man who’s one heck of a defensive playmaker. The drop off in rim safety from Wembanyama to Quaintance could be like going from an A+ to an A. The explanation he will likely be obtainable the place the Spurs are choosing is that it’s unclear when he’ll have the ability to play and the way wholesome he will likely be.
Quaintance tore his ACL in February of 2025 and has not recovered since. He performed in simply 4 video games his sophomore yr at Kentucky, coping with problems from the harm. Not solely are groups anxious about his knee’s well being, but in addition whether or not the expertise has sapped a few of his athleticism. It’s not simply well being with Quaintance; he’s additionally an especially restricted offensive participant who will likely be finest at rim operating on the subsequent degree.
San Antonio is likely one of the few groups that make sense for Quaintance. There aren’t a ton of “win-now” prospects at 20 on this draft, and the Spurs’ rotation is already overflowing with logjams. San Antonio might choose Quaintance, let him rehab and develop within the G League for a yr, after which plan to unleash him behind Wembanyama within the years to come back. Deciding on Quaintance at 20 could be a protracted play, however one that might in the end clear up quite a lot of the Spurs’ backup large man issues for years to come back.
Dailyn Swain, 6’7” Wing, Texas
32.8 minutes, 17.3 factors, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 54.2% capturing, 34.4% three, 81.5% free throw
Swain performed a vital position for the Longhorns this yr, main the staff to the NCAA Event in his breakout junior season. He has good dimension for a wing, is a superb ball-handler and driver for the place, and has potential as a defensive playmaker. Off the ball, he’ll be a robust cutter, however received’t be an elite flooring spacer, as he has a gradual, inconsistent bounce shot. He’ll be at his finest with the ball in his palms on the NBA degree. That’s a little bit of an issue for his slot in San Antonio, since they have already got quite a lot of ball-dominant gamers on the roster.
To a sure extent, San Antonio ought to draft one of the best participant obtainable at 20. If Swain is accessible at 20, he’d actually be among the many finest prospects they may choose. Do the Spurs want a ball-dominant dealing with wing who doesn’t house the ground? In all probability not. However he would give them one other offensive weapon in a bench unit that struggled to attain at occasions within the playoffs.
Chris Cenac Jr., 6’10” PF/C, Houston
24.8 minutes, 9.5 factors, 7.9 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, 48.5% capturing, 33.3% three, 62.1% free throw
Cenac Jr., in idea, could be an superior match subsequent to Wembanyama. He’s bought nice dimension and athleticism, and initiatives to ultimately shoot the ball persistently from three. He’s already a robust rebounder, has a ton of defensive instruments, and will grow to be an fascinating offensive participant who might dribble, move, and shoot as a stretch 4/5. The issue is that quite a lot of these expertise are theoretical. They got here out in flashes throughout his freshman season at Houston, however more often than not, he was a weaker ahead who performed extra like a wing than a middle.
Deciding on Cenac Jr. could be a developmental choose for the Spurs. Like Carter Bryant, he’d be a toolsy prospect who might possibly get some spot minutes, however has not persistently put all of it collectively to earn vital minutes. San Antonio might take Cenac Jr., develop him within the G League for a yr or two, and slowly work him into the rotation over time.
Koa Peat, 6’7” PF, Arizona
27.8 minutes, 14.1 factors, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 52.8% capturing, 35% three, 62.3% free throw
Jeremy Sochan by no means discovered his footing with the Spurs, largely as a result of his offensive sport couldn’t complement the remainder of the roster. Peat provides me those self same worries.
The Arizona freshman is a fierce competitor who has received at each single degree. He’s a very sturdy athlete who bullied his option to the basket in school and highschool. He reveals intriguing upside as a playmaker, mid-range scorer, and versatile defender. The issue is that he can’t shoot. He went 7-20 from three-point vary and solely shot 62.3% from the free-throw line in his freshman season. What is going to his offensive position be for the Spurs if he’s not spacing the ground?
Peat has the pedigree and demeanor to be a winner on the NBA degree. However it’s so unsure how his expertise will translate to the subsequent degree, and you need to squint to discover a match for him with the Spurs. San Antonio has achieved an amazing job drafting high-character winners in the previous few seasons, like Wembanyama and Stephon Fort. In the event that they worth that above all else, Peat might be the choice at 20.
Joshua Jefferson, 6’8” PF, Iowa State
30.9 minutes, 16.4 factors, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 47.1% capturing, 34.5% three, 70% free throw
Boris Diaw and Kyle Anderson. These are the kind of gamers that Spurs followers most frequently say they need on this staff. Properly, there may simply be a type of guys within the draft. Jefferson is a slower, athletically restricted participant who thinks the sport extremely effectively. He’s an superior playmaker and rebounder at his place whereas defending and scoring effectively as a senior at Iowa State. His bounce shot got here a good distance, as he confirmed the power to hit standstill threes this yr. There are nonetheless vital questions on his athleticism and shot-making skill on the NBA degree.
Jefferson, in my eyes, is the proper match for the Spurs. He can dribble, move, shoot (type of), rebound, and defend. He’s capable of push the tempo in transition and transfer the ball effectively within the half-court. If the shot continues to enhance, he’ll house the ground alongside Wembanyama whereas offering among the toughness San Antonio wants inside. Lots of people have a second-round grade on Jefferson, however his distinctive set of expertise makes him an intriguing attain candidate for San Antonio at 20.
Henri Veesaar, 6’11” C, North Carolina
31.4 minutes, 17 factors, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 60.8% capturing, 42.6% three, 61.5% free throw
The Spurs want one other look of their entrance courtroom. Luke Kornet is a stable screener, paint protector, and rebounder. He does the soiled work you want from a backup large, however he lacks the offensive pop and shot blocking that San Antonio might use in opposition to extra athletic groups. Veesaar might be an amazing change of tempo along with his dimension, shot blocking, and flooring spacing.
Veesaar is a weaker large man who struggles with physicality. Gamers will attempt to undergo him when he’s defending, they usually’ll attempt to make the most of his lack of power when he’s rolling or attempting to complete across the rim. Due to that, it’s not a certain factor he’ll have the ability to play alongside Wembanyama even along with his three-point shot. The Spurs could be extremely skinny within the entrance courtroom with him and Wembanyama being their two bigs. On the flip facet, Veesaar and Wembanyama could be extremely powerful to attain excessive of, and will trigger quite a lot of challenges for defenses with their flooring spacing skill. Veesaar is one other participant who might be obtainable with San Antonio’s second-round choices.
Isaiah Evans, 6’6” Wing, Duke
28.2 minutes, 15 factors, 3.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 43.3% capturing, 36.1% three, 86% free throw
You’ll be able to all the time use extra capturing, and Evans is likely one of the finest motion shooters within the draft. He hit large pictures for Duke in his two seasons there. Lots of these pictures had been with a excessive diploma of issue, which bodes effectively for his skill to knock down threes with more room on the subsequent degree. Each side of his sport stems from that capturing skill. His drives often come from attacking exhausting closeouts, and his gravity as a shooter can open up lanes for others. He’s bettering as a defender, however nonetheless leaves rather a lot to be desired on that finish. He’s additionally not a lot of a playmaker on the wing.
If San Antonio simply needs so as to add extra capturing, they may do rather a lot worse than Evans. There’s a likelihood the Duke sophomore falls to the second spherical. At 20, he’s a little bit of a attain, however at 35, he’d be a worthwhile flyer who might develop right into a stable motion shooter off the bench.
