Fox has not come back yet! 5-0, the best start in team history. How did this new generation of Spurs do it?

2016.7.11 Tim Duncan officially announced his retirement, marking the end of the most prosperous era in the history of the Spurs.

From the 1997-98 season (56 wins and 26 losses) to the 2015-16 season (67 wins and 15 losses), the Spurs were always in the championship window period, and they were at their peak for 19 years.

In the "post-Duncan era", life for the Spurs was not good: the new cornerstone leader Leonard voluntarily applied to leave the team and was sent to the Raptors in July 2018; they lost to the Nuggets in the first round of the 2019 playoffs, which was the last playoff trip in the Popovich era; Pop successively let go of Ade, DeRozan, White, Murray, and Poeltl, completely starting a rebuild.

It has been 9 years since Duncan retired, and it has been 6 years since the Spurs last made the playoffs. It is not difficult to understand that after Bunyama led the team to a 5-0 start, the best start in team history, he raised his arms and roared with cheers: The sky has finally dawned, and they can say goodbye to the past 6 depressing years in team history. They have truly ushered in their moment of rise.

Without Fox, the Spurs won five consecutive games and had the best start in team history. How did they do it?

Wenbanyama has transformed from a defensive gate to a ball-holding offensive core, with its own offensive and defensive system. This is the foundation of the Spurs' rise this season.

Wenban Yama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game in his rookie season. As a sophomore, he averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per game - winning the league's shot-blocking title for two consecutive years. There is no doubt that defense is his fundamentals.

Bunbanyama’s biggest shortcoming in the first two seasons of his career was his lack of confrontation ability due to his thin stature. He is 224 centimeters tall but does not have a stable low-post attack and hard-breaking ability. Last season, he averaged 8.8 three-pointers per game and basically shot from the outside.

Wenban Yama suffered from deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder in February this year, which caused the season to be canceled. He trained hard during the offseason and went to the Shaolin Temple to practice, and achieved remarkable results.

In the opening game, Wenbanyama defeated Nongmei and Lively in a duel, scoring 40 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. He only took 2 three-pointers in the game - the ball hit the inside, and he was able to defeat Nongmei after confrontation. His core strength and confrontation ability were significantly improved.

Since the start of the season, Bunyama has averaged 30.2 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.8 blocks, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He ranks first in the league in blocks and rebounds per game. What's even more commendable is that he averaged 3.2 three-pointers per game. Compared with 8.8 last season, the proportion of three-pointers has been significantly reduced. His aggressiveness in attacking inside has significantly improved.

Defense is 224 centimeters Bunyama's basic plan. He has his own defensive system. The Spurs averaged the fewest points per game in the league and ranked second in defensive efficiency. When Bunyama has a stable ball-handling ability and strong confrontation ability, breakthrough, shooting, and support, he can single-handedly support the Spurs' offensive and defensive system. So far this season, Bunyama can be said to be the cornerstone superstar of the Spurs in both offense and defense.

With Fox, the top-paid player, not yet back, second-year player Castle and rookie Harper took on the important task of point guard, and their performance far exceeded expectations.

Castle, the No. 4 pick last year, continued to improve. As a second-year player, he officially became the starter this season, averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He averaged 33.3% three-point shooting per game and was promoted to the team's second leading scorer. In the days when Fox was absent, his combo guard attributes perfectly shouldered the burden of starting point guard.

Second place Harper is a veteran player and has seamlessly integrated into the Spurs system. He averaged 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and shot 35.7% from three-point range.

Harper's performance far exceeded expectations, providing immediate combat attributes, passing, controlling, shooting, and defense. He averaged 25.8 minutes per game as a substitute and played an important sixth man role in the team. What's even more frightening is that Harper is only 19 years old, and his maturity is simply tailor-made for the Spurs.

Start Castle and substitute Harper seamlessly relayed. Even without Fox, the Spurs' back line still operates in an orderly manner, and the two young people are indispensable.

Castle, No. 4 in 2024, and Harper, No. 2 in 2025, both used five games to realize their talents. The Spurs management contributed a lot. Third-year Wenban Yama + second-year Castle + first-year Harper basically constitute the future "troika."

The Spurs have an iron-clad camp and smooth soldiers. Discipline and execution have always been the cultural heritage of the Spurs.

This new generation of Spurs still plays enjoyable team basketball under the coaching of coach Mickey Johnson. They defend, share the ball, work hard, and are obedient. They play basketball in the right way. They are not fundamentally different from the Spurs in the Popovich era. This is why we love Spurs team basketball.

The Spurs have had the second-best defensive efficiency in the league since the start of the season. You must know that their defensive efficiency only ranked 25th in the league last season. Defense is the key to the Spurs' transformation.

Wenbanyama averaged 14.6 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game, setting up a no-fly zone under the basket, and he also has a terrifying rotation sweep ability, single-handedly supporting the Spurs' defensive system. On the outside, Champagne, Barnes, Vassell, Castle, Harper, and Kelden all have the defensive ability to switch to 2-3 positions. It is not difficult to find the Spurs' team-building idea, Wen Banyama + multi-position swing forwards and guards, one big and many small, free arrangement and combination, plug and play, very consistent with the development of modern basketball, the training plan for positions 1-4 without clear position definition.

The Spurs have many players who are capable of playing the mini-4 position, with multiple cards capable of swinging at positions 1-4, and they all have the ability to shoot and dominate the ball. The future is scary.

The two big brothers, 25-year-old Vassell and 26-year-old Kelden, have taken the lead. McLaughlin and Biyombo can also plug and play.. The Spurs have no thorny players who cause trouble. They are all honest people who are conscientious and obedient. The imprint left by Popovich and Duncan in the era still affects the team culture. Although both of them have retired, the Spurs are still moving forward according to the route left by the chief architect.

Team, discipline, execution, this is the Spurs. Now with the historical talent of Bunyama, Castle and Harper's performance far exceeded expectations, and the Spurs made the best start in team history. When Fox comes back, it is only a matter of time to hit the playoffs and even the championship in the future.

The performances of Wenban Yama, Castle, and Harper tell us that the Spurs' future has arrived!