After finishing the seasons as a go-to scorer, the guard understands he may be the third or even fourth option after Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox return.
Devin Vassell would rather have a supporting role in a winning collaboration than rack up points as the first or second option on a losing team. After spending the final four weeks of the season mainly atop the Spurs ' offensive pecking order, Vassell is ready to revert to being the third or even fourth option in 2025-26, with Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox set to return and Stephon Castle expected to enter his sophomore season with even more confidence.
'You look at a championship team, it's not just one person,' Vassell said. 'It's not just two people. It's just a collective.' Vassell averaged 18 points on 14 shots per game over his last 15 outings, a span in which Wembanyama and Fox were both sidelined. Castle also thrived during that stretch, averaging 19 points on 15 attempts while playing in three more games than Vassell. But with Wembanyama, the All-Star center, and Fox, the explosive guard, both expected to be ready to go when training camp rolls around in late September, things will change for Vassell next season Wembanyama was averaging 24.3 points when the Spurs announced Feb. 20 he was done for the year. Fox was averaging nearly 20 points before he was shut down March 13 after joining the team from Sacramento on Feb. 3 in a three-team trade. 'It's a good problem to have,' Vassell said of the readjustment he will have to make five months from now. 'At the end of the day,' he added, 'you don't have worry about a team's scouting report just on you. I'll be getting better looks, easier looks.' Vassell's comments came after the season finale last Sunday and likely drew an approving nod from Fox, who is averaging 21.5 points per game after eight seasons in the NBA. 'When I got here, I told him, 'Bro, you're never going to the best defender when I'm on the court, regardless of how I'm playing,' ' Fox said. 'So for him, it makes it a little bit easier. Obviously, he's not going to have the ball in his hands as much as he did the previous four or five years. But for him getting a weaker defender and then being able to play off of closeouts, I feel like it makes the game easier.'' As an example, Fox pointed to Vassell's performance in the Spurs' 127-113 win over Brooklyn on March 4. On the strength of an 8-of-11 performance from 3-point range, Vassell scored a career-high 37 points on a night Castle had 17 and Fox 15. 'Nothing was complicated,' Fox said. 'Obviously, there were times he did have to take tough shots, but that's because he was hot . Everything else was him playing off closeouts, him catching and shooting. They close out hard, he's getting to the basket. It makes the game a lot easier. 'He got guarded by one of the two best defenders on the team . But when we're all out there, they won't be able to do that. When everybody's healthy, I think we could be extremely good.' No matter his role, Vassell, who is set to turn 25 Aug. 23, should be ready to roll once the season starts. And it will be a welcome change from where he was physically at that point a year ago. The 11th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft missed the first nine games of the season after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. After playing in four games, he sat out five more contests due to an injured knee. 'It was a long year for me,' Vassell said. 'But it was also a good year. I learned a lot, went through a lot of ups and downs mentally. But I feel like it helped me a lot and has made me an even better player mentally and physically.' After fighting his way through a mid-season shooting slump, Vassell ended the year averaging 16.3 points after averaging a career-best 19.5 in 2023-24. But the season wasn't solely about his offensive production. Challenged by acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson to improve his all-around game, the Georgia native averaged 4.0 rebounds and a career-best 1.3 steals. In March, Vassell averaged nearly 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. 'His activity ,' Johnson said. 'His ability to make plays off the ball and use his length and athleticism were at the forefront of that.' Vassell said he will spend much of the summer working to become more consistent, with an emphasis on improving his handle and his shooting stroke after he connected on a middling 36.8% of his shots from beyond the arc on 6.7 attempts per game. 'I'm just excited for this summer,' he said. 'I'm just excited for all of us to get better and to grow.' And to become a winning collaborative.
Spurs NBA Nets Devin Vassell Stephon Castle Mitch Johnson All-Star Bro Sacramento Brooklyn Georgia NBA Draft Victor Wembanyama De'aaron Fox Fox 15 Castle
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