4 Spurs players who have one more year to prove they belong

While the 22-60 record didn't look very promising, the 2023–2024 season showed good signs for the San Antonio Spurs. Some games were exciting; Victor Wembanyama rose to stardom and the team's support for each other catapulted.

However, the downside was their inability to finish games (due to a lack of maturity), with poor defensive play and immense inconsistency throughout the year.

They say growing pains happen to young teams and that could not be more true for San Antonio. With a lot to look forward to, some players have to step up in a major way. Let's take a look at a select group of players who must prove that they still belong on the team going into the 2024 season.

4. Keldon Johnson

Keldon Johnson is currently the longest-tenured player on the team, having been in San Antonio since 2019. The feisty guard/forward has been a fan-favorite over the years but favoritism only goes so far. Sooner rather than later, a player is expected to improve and help his team.

In the 2022–2023 season, Johnson was considered the best player on the team, averaging nearly 23 points per game, which was a 5-point improvement from the year prior. At his best, he is fearless when attacking the rim and when he wants to take over a game (rarely this season), he can make big shots.

This past year, Wembanyama took on a lot of the scoring load, and rightfully so. Therefore, other players were expected to have their production somewhat altered. Still, Johnson should have done more. By the numbers, Johnson had his points-per-game average drop to 15, his lowest since his second season.

It seemed that often, Johnson took bad shots during games and had moments of playing sloppy over the season. Later in the year, he was turned into the team's sixth man, which slightly improved his play but was not enough to validate a mediocre season. Johnson is the biggest trading piece for San Antonio going into the off-season. However, if the team decides to give him another try in year six, Johnson must clean up his decision-making and prove he can be an important contributor.