Spurs Backcourt Revolution Powers San Antonio’s NBA Resurgence

The San Antonio Spurs, a franchise steeped in tradition and championship pedigree, are once again making waves in the NBA—this time with a youthful roster and a revitalized sense of purpose. At the heart of this resurgence stands Victor Wembanyama, the towering French phenom selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, and a dynamic backcourt trio that’s rapidly becoming the envy of the league. With the Spurs hitting the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, fans and analysts alike are buzzing about what could be a new golden era in San Antonio.

The journey to this point has been anything but straightforward. After drafting Wembanyama, the Spurs’ front office—led by general manager Brian Wright—immediately set out to find the right backcourt partners to complement their generational big man. The rumor mill was in overdrive, with San Antonio linked to nearly every prominent point guard on the market. Names like Trae Young, Darius Garland, and De’Aaron Fox were all floated as potential targets. In the end, it was Fox, the electrifying guard formerly of the Sacramento Kings, who landed in San Antonio just before the 2025 trade deadline.

Looking back, that decision appears to have been a masterstroke. While Trae Young, once considered a top candidate, was traded to the Washington Wizards just last week after a tumultuous stint in Atlanta, Fox has flourished in his new environment. Through the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, Fox is averaging nearly 21 points per game, along with four rebounds and six assists. He’s shooting an impressive 47 percent from the field and boasts a true-shooting percentage of 57 percent. The impact is clear: the Spurs have a +3.8 net rating when Fox is on the floor, a testament to his ability to elevate those around him.

Where Fox truly shines, though, is in the clutch. He leads the team in clutch minutes and, along with Wembanyama, averages three points in those high-pressure situations. The team’s net rating in the clutch with Fox on the court soars to an eye-popping +21.6. “He gives them another closer,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after a recent defeat at the hands of the Spurs. “Every corporation needs a closer. You got to close the deal, and he’s been one of the better closers throughout his career. You have Wemby who’s their closer. You have Fox, having two closers on a team, and both of them will make passes as well. Fox’s in-between game at the end of the game is as good as anyone.”

Fox’s synergy with Wembanyama and the rest of the roster has not gone unnoticed. The Spurs front office rewarded his performance and leadership with a four-year contract extension last summer, cementing his role as a core piece of the franchise’s future. Alongside Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Dylan Harper, the second overall pick in the 2025 draft, Fox forms a formidable backcourt trio that has Spurs fans dreaming of deep playoff runs.

The results on the court have been nothing short of remarkable. With a 119-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Frost Bank Center on January 15, the Spurs notched their 28th win of the season—tying them with Denver for second in the Western Conference and giving them the third-best record in the NBA. It’s the most wins for San Antonio at the halfway mark since the 2016-17 season, when they finished with 61 victories. This is a dramatic turnaround for a team that won just 38 games last year and missed the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth consecutive season.

Even more impressive is that San Antonio has achieved this success despite adversity. Wembanyama, the franchise’s cornerstone, has missed 14 games due to injuries, yet the team hasn’t missed a beat. “My assessment after 41 games is that we can beat anybody, and we’ve beaten almost everybody,” Wembanyama told French reporters. “But we’re still way too inconsistent, we still suffer a lot from our own mistakes. I feel like the progress we made at the beginning of the season really raised our ceiling a lot, and now it’s our floor that we need to raise.”

Head coach Mitch Johnson, in his first full season at the helm after replacing the legendary Gregg Popovich, has kept expectations in check while maintaining a competitive edge. “We’ve shown we have potential to do a lot of great things, and the reality is we’ve not done anything and we’re a long way from being really where we want to be,” Johnson said. “And so, you’re not skipping steps and you’re keeping perspective over here, and then you’re competitive as heck and you want it all right now over there, and it’s a fun place to live.”

Johnson’s leadership has drawn praise from both players and opposing coaches. “Mitch has been amazing for our young group,” said Spurs sixth man Keldon Johnson. “He allows us to be ourselves. He allows us to build our chemistry and our bonds in our own ways. I feel like he’s an amazing personality for our young group. He laughs and jokes with us, but when it’s time to lock in, he’s locked in.” Doc Rivers echoed those sentiments, noting, “Mitch Johnson is doing an amazing job. (Gregg Popovich) did an amazing job of setting up the franchise by bringing Mitch along. And you can see it in everything they do—it looks like the Spurs.”

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Since their stirring Christmas Day win over Oklahoma City, the Spurs have gone just 5-6 in their last 11 games, exposing areas for growth. The team is currently ranked third in the league in defensive rating at 112.1, but both Fox and Johnson have stressed the need for further improvement, especially as the playoffs loom. “For teams that go into the playoffs and give themselves a chance to win, it’s usually the better defensive teams in the league,” Fox observed. “So, you have to be able to hang your hat on that because when you’re not making shots, if your defense is still great, you still give yourself a chance to win regardless of who you’re playing against.”

Shooting has also been a point of emphasis. After struggling from beyond the arc in recent weeks, the Spurs exploded for 16 three-pointers on 37 attempts (43.2%) against the Bucks, their highest output in 12 games. “Keep shooting,” Keldon Johnson insisted. “You got to keep shooting. It ain’t no way around it. It’s no special method. You got to keep shooting. When all the shots were going in, we were all happy. When you’re open now, you got to continue to shoot the ball. There’s nothing else to it. We need everybody to be shooting with confidence.”

As the Spurs prepare for the second half of the season, optimism is running high. With Wembanyama healthy, Fox orchestrating the offense, and a young, hungry supporting cast, San Antonio is poised to make some serious noise in the Western Conference. The journey is ongoing, and the challenges are real, but one thing is certain: the Spurs are back in the conversation, and they’re not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.