Blake Wesley gives Spurs fans pleasant surprise in NBA debut against Bulls

In the latter half of back-to-back contests, the San Antonio Spurs put up a gutsy and valiant effort which allowed them to snatch a win. The usual suspects showed up for the San Antonio Spurs as Keldon Johnson put up 33 points and made half of his shots from downtown while Jakob Poeltl grabbed his fourth straight double-double.

We also saw steady performances from Tre Jones, Zach Collins, veteran Josh Richardson, and rookie Jeremy Sochan. However, aside from the contributors that we have come to expect, we saw a surprise performance from a rookie who made his debut on Friday night -- Blake Wesley.

In his NBA debut, Blake Wesley made four field goals on six attempts, two of which came from beyond the arc. The rookie ended the night with ten points and four assists while seeing fifteen minutes of action. His efficient shooting is definitely a welcome addition to a team who is looking to maximize the production from their young pieces as they go through a rebuild. His four dimes should also get both of his teammates and the Spurs fans excited as he contributed to the 37 assists that the team produced.

Who is the Spurs' newest backup PG, Blake Wesley?

Basketball fans who watched him play with Notre Dame shouldn't be too surprised with Wesley's performance. However, for the uninitiated, Blake Wesley is a combo guard who was taken late in the first round as the 25th pick. During his lone season in the ACC, he averaged 14.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. He showed that he was a great ballhawk, often getting in the way of passes and forcing turnovers. He also attacked the rim with aggression and he has shown that he has good body control with great interior finishing.

Wesley played five games in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League where he averaged 17 points, 4 assists, and 1.6 steals. This performance in the summer league is an obvious continuation of the way he played in the ACC as the stats suggest.

However, he also showed the aspects of his game that needed improvement as he turned the ball over almost three times per matchup and shot only 30% from the field. However, these weaknesses shouldn’t discourage Spurs fans from feeling excited about the young guard’s sudden emergence as these mistakes can be expected from a young player who plays aggressively and there is always going to be room for improvement. 

Is Blake Wesley going to turn out as the next gem unearthed by Gregg Popovich’s staff? Only time will tell but we can definitely expect to see more minutes from the 19-year-old guard for the all-too-sudden shorthanded Spurs.

Hopefully, fans don’t need to wait too long to see his next appearance as the Spurs have an upcoming home game against the Timberwolves.