Devin Vassell unleashes hidden potential to lead Spurs on career night

Will the real Devin Vassell please stand up? That's how Spurs fans have been feeling all season watching their fifth-year guard with all the promise of the world struggle this year. He broke through in a major way tonight, leading San Antonio to their 26th win of the season over the Brooklyn Nets with an explosive performance, highlighted by the eight 3-pointers he drained—another career-high.

Vassell had the night of his life in the Frost Bank Center with Victor Wembanyama in attendance, cheering him on from the sideline. He came out of the gate on fire and maintained the onslaught for the entire game. It felt good to watch, but it had to feel even better for him. His 37 points were the most in his NBA career. He expressed his gratitude to the fans for their patience after the game.

"I've been struggling shooting the ball, so I just appreciate all the patience. I knew it was gonna start falling eventually," - Vassell when addressing the crowd postgame

San Antonio Spurs get the Devin Vassell they've been waiting for

It's also who the fans have been waiting for. The frustration had mounted to an all-time high, but Spurs fans love their guys, and Dev is a great person. The common sentiment among supporters is the desire to see him succeed, but nobody is placed above the good of the team. That's why the feelings toward the Georgia native began to shift.

Ideally, Vassell continues to show what the Silver and Black faithful have been boasting about over the past few years. He has all-star potential. It's easy to see when he's in his bag, playing with confidence, and knocking down his shots. If this turns out to be his breakout game, it will be a welcome sight for an organization approaching a crossroad summer.

With the amount of talent projected to be available in free agency, through trade, or in the draft, SA is poised to make significant changes to the roster. Surely, they would rather keep the guy they invested over $100 million in just two Octobers ago, but that's up to him.

The scary part about this is if he does keep up this level of production, the Spurs will end up winning more games than most anticipated. With Wembanyama out for the rest of the season, that's not ideal anymore. They should be losing games for better lottery odds in the draft. They can lose with grace and do it while improving some of their weaknesses, but they should be losing, nonetheless.

However, if Dev re-establishes himself as the core piece he was thought to be, San Antonio will be in great shape regardless of where their pick lands.