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It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you, coast to coast on the Infiniti Sports Network. Man, we livin' an amazing time in sports. We got Otani, doing things we've never seen on a baseball field and May you think of things on the basketball court. We got Victor Wembanyama. These guys seven four seven five Playing inside, outside, doing just about everything that he wants to do.
The San Antonio Spurs, yes, it's early in the season. They've already started 4-0. And Victor Wembanyama, people are already putting him in MVP conversation. And so, to talk about these Spurs who just keep hitting the jackpot with these generational big men joining us right now. It's someone that you can catch.
On Ken's 5 in San Antonio, he's a sports acre for them. He covers all things Spurs. Welcome to the show, Nate Ryan. Nate, how are you, man? Yeah, what's going on, man?
I like that comparison with Otani, man, because it really is something like. I don't think anyone has seen before, seven foot four point five. And he even grew from last season to this season. His height was a little taller on Media Day. But yeah, what Victor Wimbanyam has been able to do through four games uh is just out of this world.
Otani-esque on the basketball floor for sure. No, without a shadow of a doubt. And then this is a team that's been able to roll without De'Aaron Fox up until now. We got Stefan Castle. There's Dylan Harper, who people don't even talk about him.
He just got drafted. When you think about the San Antonio Spurs team, we all know Victor Mebanyama, but some of the guard pieces around him. Everybody's young, the the the sky's the limit. Yeah, and I think it's been a long time coming for San Antonio. I mean, they've.
Obviously for for the last You know Century, in this century, the Spurs have been synonymous with success. I mean, the five championships in 20 years under Greg Popovich. But Those have been further and further away. The Spurs right now have the second longest playoff drought. in the NBA.
It's been six years since they last tasted the postseason.
So the fans down here are getting a little bit restless with it, but it's been it's been a process. The Spurs are very much a unique organization where they don't skip steps. They take their time in development. And so this nucleus that they've been building around Wembanyama has really taken shape even before Victor got here. For me, it it really took shape when they traded DeJante Murray about a little over three years ago because the Spurs then they were just coming off an appearance in the play-in tournament.
They just lost to the Pelicans as the nine seed, and their season was over. DeJounte Murray was coming off his first. all-star appearance. They had guys Devin Vessell, Keldon Johnson, who are still with the Spurs, right? And now they're.
the two longest tenured players. but then they decided to trade DeJante Murray off his first All-Star appearance. And they got a boatload of draft. They got three unprotected first-round draft picks from the Atlanta Hawks for Murray. and picks that are still going to be conveying in next year's draft.
The Spurs have The hawk? Pick swap this upcoming draft. I mean, so if the Hawks have a tough year, the Spurs are going to. I get that pick as well. But that season after they traded Murray, You know, it was tough to watch, right?
They were without a main ball handler, and that enabled them to fall to the bottom of the standings and get Victor Wembanyama. And obviously, when you have a player like that, it's a lot easier to build around. But you look at How they built through the draft, where they picked Stefan Castle. Castle was the fourth pick, and he won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. I mean, there were three guys picked ahead of Stefan Castle: Rishasay, Tsar, the two French big men, and then Reed Shepard in Houston.
And I think thus far, we can look at those four guys and say Stefan Castle's probably been the most impactful player of those guys, right? Obviously, they got lucky with. the lottery numbers and getting Dylan Harper at the number two pick last year, but then looking at some of the other guys. A guy like Julian Champenny, who started every single one of the four games for the Spurs this season. Champenny was a guy who, two years ago, when the Spurs were at the bottom of the standings, He was cut loose from the 76ers and struggling to stay in the league.
Spirit gave him a chance down the stretch of a losing season, and he shot the lights out of the ball and got himself a four-year contract. He's now playing minutes every single night. Ms. Burst took on the salary willingly of Harrison Barnes. In the DeMar de Rosen trade, when the Bulls sent DeRosan to the Kings, the Spurs got involved to say, hey, we'll take a draft pick, but we'll also take on Barnes' salary just as a dump, right?
But Harrison Barnes is a guy who's an NBA champion and a workhorse in the NBA.
So the guys that are all around Wembanyama right now, and then you look at Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who are guys that were here before Wembanyama. Very, very calculated too. And now they're all You know, w with with how much better Victor has gotten, they're all starting to mesh around the same time and it's you're really seeing the dividends of it. But it's really not something that's Happened overnight, too. And then a guy like Jeremy Sohan was a first-round pick before Wemidyama.
He's yet to play in a game this season. But It's definitely been a and they haven't skipped any steps here in San Antonio, and they're really starting to see see it to come to fruition here. And San Antonio Sports Anchor from Ken's 5, Nate Ryan is joining us here on the JR Sport Reef Show. You talk about the pieces around Victor Wembanyama. We've seen some of the improvement that he's had on the court.
Being more aggressive, going to the basket, less threes. The shooting percentage is still absolutely ridiculous. From what you've seen, and it's an early sample size. Outside of, I don't know, getting even stronger, and I'm not waking up expecting him to be shacked by any stretch. But where are some elements of his game where you can still potentially see improvement?
Uh well I think his passing for sure, and his ball handling as well. He's a fantastic ball handler, but The more his teammates around him are able to get themselves free and make shots, I've really, you're seeing the full bag of tricks right now. I mean, I think it's fair to say through the first week of the regular season, I mean, he was the Western Conference player of the week. He would be the MVP. Aside from getting stronger, it really is just.
adding on top to what he already has. And you talked about he's shooting less three pointers, Uh he last night Well, did we lose Nate? I think listen up football fans, you won't want to miss this. Right now, new BET365 customers bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets win or lose.
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we may have lost A nay. Nate was referring to the, well, he was bringing up. Victor Wembenyama's threes from last night. The San Antonio Spurs went out there and beat the Toronto Raptors 121 to 103. And this is Wembanyama's stat line.
from that game. Hey Nate, do we have you back? Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.
Sorry about that. I think I think you do. Go ahead, go ahead, Nate. What were you saying about Web and Yama? I I was saying that you mentioned it, where last night he didn't even attempt a three pointer.
And it was a game in which the Spurs led wire to wire, never trailed against the Raptors. Um and you look at last season. He took over 400 three-point shots. And and maybe the knock on him was he was taking too many. And there were a lot of times Were he probably felt like he had to because there were games that the Spurs We're trailing a lot, but Learning how to play with the pieces around him and buying in on the defensive end of the floor.
Running out in transition. Obviously, the blocks have been at an all-time high. I mean, no other player. Through four games, I don't think in history has had 100 points and 18 blocks through the first three games of the season, which Wembanyama's had. Mm-hmm.
After every block shot, you're seeing this team get out and run in transition. And it's a result of Castle getting a lot better. Devin Vessel buying into a role on the defensive end of the floor. I really give a lot of credit to Mitch Johnson, too, who's the full-time head coach for the first time. But this team's ability to move quicker in transition and have Wembanyama trail and rim run a little bit more is making them a lot more a lot deadlier.
I mean, just it's the it's the ensemble cast that's making him better for sure.
Well, Nate, you bring up Mitch Johnson, who, after almost 30 years of Greg Popovich, takes over full time after Popovich's health issues. There's only one Greg Popovich. What are some similarities or differences knowing that Popovich is still in the building? But what what makes Mitch stand out as an individual? Uh I think With Mitch.
Uh first off, he's able to connect with the guys A lot easier just being naturally a younger guy. Who he's surrounded himself with. I think on this year's coaching staff, you look at some people that he's brought in. For example, his associate head coach, he tabbed as his number two. Sean Sweeney, who is the number two.
Assistant in Dallas prior. He'd been the defensive coordinator for Jason Kidd in the Dallas Mavericks. you know, was part of that staff that went to the NBA finals. Sean Sweeney's been very vocal on the defensive end of the floor, which is what the identity of this Spurs team really is. I mean you look at their defensive rating currently sitting at 101 right now and that's one of the best.
in the NBA you looking at other guys on staff. I mean, a guy in a del development role brought in for the first time this offseason. You might remember an NBA player, fantastic NBA player, but Richard Lewis, who was You know, an all-star with the Seattle Supersonics a while back. Richard Lewis is now a part of the Spurs staff. And, you know, he's a guy who.
Yeah. Helped raise DeAren Fox. DeAaron Fox was playing on his AAU team in the Houston area. who Mitch has surrounded himself with, in addition to being his own vocal leader. You see Mitch Johnson sometimes getting down in defensive stances with his players on the sideline.
But also too, you know, he does have an element of Of being closer to the game from a player standpoint. I mean, he was a former player himself, never played in the NBA, but, you know, he was a. He was a very solid point guard at Stanford. I mean, when the Lopez Twins were at Stanford, Mitch Johnson was the point guard and helped take him to the NCAA tournament. Very cerebral, very, very smart player.
I remember having a conversation With Brooke Lopez last year, who's now in Los Angeles. But I remember asking Brooke, is this a surprise that Mitch Johnson is a head coach? And he told me, he goes, Absolutely not. We all called him back in college. His nickname was Maestro because you didn't even really need the coaching on the sideline.
He was coaching on the floor. And that goes back to his college days. And he's a Stanford guy, so he's a smart guy. you know, he he's brought a very, very fresh kinda a a younger face to to lead this organization. But also at the same time, if you ask Mitch Johnson who's his co coaching mentor, he's been in the organization now for 10 seasons.
So he's Been a part of that Spurs fabric. He also knows, which is something that this organization doesn't do. is skip steps. Uh j patience is a virtue here in San Antonio. Oh, Nate, you talk about the youth of the team, the youth of the coach, the players, all of the talent.
We know sometimes it takes a little bit of time for things to marinate. We had a very young team that won the championship last year. With the Oklahoma City Thunder, I don't think anybody's jumping out the window to say the Spurs are going to be champs this year. But what are some realistic expectations for the squad this season? I I mean, i it it's tough around here because People are used to winning championships and they don't want to get too excited, right, because it's been a couple of years since they've made the playoffs.
But with the start that they've had and obviously the changing factors in the West, Ask folks again here in two weeks when De'Aaron Fox returns to the lineup. But looking at how the West is. you know, looked thus far. I don't think it's out of the question to think that this is a top four seed. in the West, especially with how they've looked So far in their early games, I mean, I'm counting.
You know, the Thunder are going to be tough. The Houston Rockets are going to be tough, but it depends. Are the Rockets going to go out and get a point guard? Like losing Fred Van Zliet. is a big blow to that rotation.
It looks like they might need to go out And get themselves a ball handler. And we'll see how the Spurs match up here in the coming weeks.
Next week, You know, they'll go on the road and they'll play the Lakers on Wednesday night on national TV. They'll host the Rockets next Friday night. for the first time. But when you look at how they've looked thus far against competition, they haven't beaten teams that have been top five seeds in the league by any means. But you know, with how good that they've looked, I uh there's nothing holding them back, I would say, from from being a top At least aiming to be a top four seed in the West.
And the thing that's different about it, too. from my vantage point is last season Going into last year, Obviously people thought that the Spurs might be hanging around the play in just because it was Wembanyama's second season. Uh you had Stefan Castle joining the rotation pee. It was a lot of excitement, a lot of optimism. And you heard players before this season say the playoffs are our goal, the playoffs are our goal.
And they n they didn't make the playoffs. Wembanyama was shut down midway through the season. They got DeAaron Fox midseason, but he and Victor have only played five games together. But Talking to Vassell, Keldon Johnson, they were all saying we want to make the playoffs. The playoffs are a goal.
The players, not obviously the coaches. This season though Before the season, you didn't really hear the word playoffs being thrown around between the guys as much more. When they'd be asked about the playoffs, they'd just say, we're taking things day by day. We're not looking at the law. Obviously, we want to be successful, but we're looking forward to tomorrow.
We're looking forward to the next day. And I think that just sort of goes to show how locked in sort of this team is. And I think that's a good thing for the long run. Yeah, I think it's a a good thing for the NBA. Victor Wembinyama must watch, must-see TV.
He is uh well, he's the guy a lot of people are looking forward to seeing. Hey, Nate, I really appreciate the time and your first-person expertise. Tell everybody where they can keep up with you on Ken's 5, online, on the internet, fill us in. Yeah, yeah, got hit me up on social media. You know, I'm at All the games at Nate Ryan Sports is the social media handle.
I mean, I'm the I'm the sports director here at the CBS affiliate in the San Antonio, but I also Serve as the pre and post game host and sideline reporter for the Spurs. You know, I'm I'm working for the team as well too, the last couple of nights and then I'll be on the road with them a couple games this season, but uh yeah, no, it's it's a fun time to. Fun time to be a Spurs fan down here for sure. And I appreciate you guys having me on. No, we appreciate your time and and your expertise.
We'll catch you soon down the line, okay, Nate? You know it. We'll hear from you hear from me soon. That 365 is paying out before the final whistle. Check out Bet365's unrivaled early payout offer.
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