NBA experts have high expectations for Spurs during NBA 2024-2025 award season

As the 2024-2025 NBA season approaches, there’s plenty of chatter about where the San Antonio Spurs will land in the Western Conference standings. Most network seeding projections have the Spurs somewhere between the 11th and 15th spots. Still, ESPN’s NBA experts released an article revealing that expectations for the team should be higher than people have predicted thus far.

ESPN gathered analysts, reporters, and insiders to vote on who they believe will win the major NBA awards this season, and a couple of Spurs players—and even Coach Gregg Popovich—found themselves in the mix.

The year is a failure if these predictions are right and the Spurs don't challenge for a play-in spot

Leading the way is Victor Wembanyama, who garnered a whopping 67% of first-place votes for Defensive Player of the Year. His dominance on the defensive end is already transcendent, and it’s clear that many believe he will elevate his game even further. Rudy Gobert, a four-time DPOY winner and defensive juggernaut, was a distant second with just 5% of the first-place votes. This strong endorsement of Wembanyama speaks volumes about what should have been last season when he was robbed of the award.

Stephon Castle, the Spurs' highly anticipated rookie, though lost in the shuffle of the summer, also received recognition, landing in the top five for Rookie of the Year. Castle secured 10% of the first-place votes—good for fourth—trailing behind Reed Sheppard from the Houston Rockets, who led the pack with 62%. Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan were also ahead of Castle, but being in the conversation highlights the expectations surrounding the young guard even if he should be ahead of both of those players.

Interestingly, Wembanyama also led the voting for Most Improved Player of the Year, capturing 14% of the first-place votes. While it’s unusual for a first-overall pick and generational talent like Wembanyama to be considered for this award, it’s a testament to the belief that he could take an extraordinary leap this season. Typically, this award is reserved for role players or those who transition into larger roles, but if Wembanyama does win it, Spurs fans certainly won’t be complaining.

Coach Gregg Popovich also received some love in the Coach of the Year voting, landing at number four with 5% of the first-place votes. Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks led the category with 19%, followed by Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics. Popovich’s presence on this list shows that, despite the critics within the fan base who think Pop's lost his fastball, there’s confidence in his ability to guide this young Spurs team through what is expected to be a pivotal season.

However, these high individual expectations for the Spurs clash with their projected seeding. If Wembanyama is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player, Castle is competing for Rookie of the Year, and Popovich is in the conversation for Coach of the Year, yet the team finishes between the 11th and 15th seeds, something will have gone very wrong. The additions of veterans like Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, combined with the expected improvement of the younger players, should position the Spurs to compete for a playoff spot.

These award projections indicate that there’s belief in the talent and potential of this Spurs roster, even if the seeding projections don’t reflect that optimism. For Spurs fans, this could mean that while the season might have its ups and downs, there’s a lot to look forward to, and the team could surprise many by exceeding expectations.