2025 NBA Draft: Here's where the San Antonio Spurs Stand
What could come of the Spurs' odds as they head into the homestretch?
SAN ANTONIO- It’s fair to say the San Antonio Spurs sitting at 13th in the Western Conference and having the 8th worst record in the league wasn’t where the team wanted to be at the start of April. Regardless of the reason(s) they wound up here, it’s the situation they found themselves in. Now, it seems as though they’re gearing up for the offseason as they play it safe with a few guys banged up.
Jeremy Sochan missed the last two games for back spasms, and Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson were held out of the Denver Nuggets game for their own injury management.
Even with these three players, it would’ve taken a miracle for them to make up the five games needed to earn the 10th seed. So it makes sense they started to attention to next season. There’s the possibility of losing enough to increase their lottery position and their chances of moving up in an extremely talented draft. After the win last night against the Denver Nuggets, four games separated the Spurs from the Raptors. Each team has six games left to play, but the Spurs face a much tougher schedule.
Remaining schedules:
Spurs: Cavs, at Blazers, at Clippers, at Warriors, at Suns, Raptors
Raptors: Blazers, Pistons, at Nets, Hornets, at Mavericks, at Spurs
That matchup to end the season could tilt who ends up with the 7th or 8th best odds at winning the lottery. If you’re wondering what happens if they’re tied, those are broken by a random drawing. Fun fact, the Spurs lost a drawing to the Houston Rockets in the lottery that netted them Victor Wembanyama.
With it all but certain the Spurs end up in the 7 or 8 spot, let’s look at how the odds stack up for each of those positions.
What this means is that if the Spurs stay where they are, they’d have a 62.8% chance at getting the 8th or 9th pick and a 25.8% chance at jumping into the top 4. Compare that to the 47.7% chance at 8 or 9 and 31.5% chance to be in the top 4, as well as the 18.8% chance at picking 7th, and you’ll find that finishing worse than the Raptors could have significant meaning.
The modern NBA is all about playing odds — that’s the reason we see so many threes being taken after all. Every player and every team tries to find ways to take advantage of a situation. And the situation for the Spurs is that they could possibly slide into a better asset heading into the team’s first year with De’Aaron Fox running the show alongside Wemby.