If Devin Vassell didn’t work on odd weakness, the Spurs have a problem

The San Antonio Spurs disappointed their fan base last season. There are no two ways about it. There was a palpable excitement heading into the season with Victor Wembanyama in uniform, and fans expected to see the team take a step forward—not a large step, but a notable one. Unfortunately, despite the exciting highlights, that didn't happen.

There were many reasons for that, but one of them lies at the feet of the incumbent players on the team. There weren't enough improvements in key areas during the offseason to have them ready to play winning basketball once the season started. Devin Vassell had the highest expectations as the second option behind Wemby, and he made some strides, but one area continues to plague him.

Vassell's free throw shooting percentage is strangely low

In Vassell's rookie and sophomore seasons, he shot 84% from the line—a solid number for a young player. In his third year, that number dipped to 78%. To be fair to the former Seminole, he dealt with injuries that year—he only played in 38 games because of it. However, in the fourth season, you would expect a strong bounce back, and he did improve, but the increase was surprisingly small at 80%.

Vassell shot under 80% from the free throw line 24 times during the 2023-24 season, and he only appeared in 68 games as he fought through injuries again. There will always be a few games where a player will struggle to get the ball into the hoop, but this isn't that.

This area needs dedication to improve because out of all the NBA players who made at least 125 free throws last season, Vassell was ranked 62. It's a surprising place to be for someone so capable from a distance. He shot the ball well from the three, and his ability to knock down highly contested jump shots was surprisingly efficient.

So, the next step is getting to the line more frequently and making a higher percentage of shots when you get there. The Spurs need to be able to trust that the number two option on the team can step up and knock down his free throws when the game is on the line. Right now, it feels like an uneasy proposition based on last season.

He isn't the only one on the team who needs to work on that area of their game, but again, he's the second option on the team. It's one of those "with great power comes great responsibility" type of deals. It comes with the territory when you're the highest-paid player on the team.