Given the opportunity to play a lot of minutes in the final games, the Spurs' collection of undrafted rookies and NBA castaways rose to the occasion.
Spurs’ Dominick Barlow blocks a shot from Memphis Grizzlies’ Louis King at the AT&T Center on Friday, Mar. 17, 2023.As the season dwindled to a handful of games, Gregg Popovich had a message for the Spurs' collection of undrafted rookies and NBA castaways.
Those potent showings came with an asterisk in a contest that amounted to a glorified G League game after the Spurs sat nine players and Dallas six, including All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, in a game that had draft implications for both teams.Still, Barlow, Champagnie and Mamukelashvili made the most of valuable minutes, putting more plays on film as they auditioned for roster spots with the Spurs next season or perhaps another NBA club.
Whether Barlow, Champagnie and Mamukelashvili are on that list remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: They got plenty of chances to show off their skills. In 19 games for the Spurs, Mamukelashvili averaged 23.3 minutes, 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds. He also averaged 2.4 assists while displaying some creative passing."He’s kind of Manu-like, isn’t he?" Popovich said, referring to Manu Ginobili." know he is a little wild out there. And I like it. He plays free and he’s a lot of fun."
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