Spurs dangerously underrated players heading into the 2024-25 season

The 2024-2025 season is going to be a wild ride for the San Antonio Spurs. They have young talent, veteran leadership and the right coach to handle it all.

Still, as a team, they are being overlooked, and the same could be said for a specific set of players. Let's dive in and discuss three Spurs players being heavily underrated going into this season.

Three underrated Spurs players for the 2024-2025 season

Tre Jones

After four seasons in the NBA, all with the Spurs, Jones has become a reliable and smart floor general. Jones can run an offense confidently, his shooting percentage continues to improve, and he is a defensive pest. As a result of this, Jones's role on the team has grown in the last few years. In 2023, Jones started in 48 out of 77 games played and averaged almost 30 minutes per game.

After the signing of Chris Paul and the drafting of Stephon Castle, however, Jones is likely to see a hit in minutes. Tre Jones is entering the final year of his contract, so it remains to be seen what his long-term role with the team will be—if there is one—but for now, he's a San Antonio Spur.

With the wide range of positives he brings to the team, Jones is still one of the more underrated players in all of the NBA. This season, Jones will lead the second unit and do great at it. Alongside Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, and Julian Champagnie, the Spurs' second unit can uplift this team down the stretch.

Heading into a "prove-it" year, Jones has a lot on his shoulders going into 2024. Luckily, he has the skill set to put together a solid season and perhaps stay in San Antonio long-term.

Devin Vassell

Many would be surprised to see Devin Vassell's name on a list like this, but let's go deeper, and it will make sense. The guard/forward, entering year five, has slowly leaped into the Spurs' number two role alongside Victor Wembanyama. What many praise about Vassell is that he is the model for "improving" year after year.

Still, Vassell is underestimated making him one of the most underrated players in the league. This is made more apparent as Vassell was ranked as the 76th best player in the NBA in a recent poll, which is just blasphemy. The teams' lack of success in the last half-decade could be to blame for this, but that is unfair. Judging a player's stardom should not be the best on their team's play, and that represents Vassell's situation perfectly.

As Wembanyama's stardom continues to grow, Vassell has been productive on a nightly basis as the team's second option. Vassell has improved in every major statistical category year after year. Coming off of a 19.5-point-per-game season, Vassell continues to improve his shooting percentage, total rebound numbers and assists per game. On defense, Vassell is just as good, showing fearlessness on that side of the floor.

Many are under the notion that Vassell will take the number three role on this team in 2024, behind Paul, but that is far from a possibility. Vassell offers the most to this team outside of Wembanyama; the Spurs would be crazy to take the ball out of his hands.

This "underrated" tag should be removed from Vassell's status in exchange for saying "star combo-guard." Vassell, however, is the type of guy who will take any status for himself but still go and play his heart out regardless. The Florida State Seminole is the perfect number two option for this team, and it's time for everyone to see how dominant of a player Vassell is becoming.

Harrison Barnes

The Harrison Barnes trade was a home-run move for the Spurs because they did not have to give up a lot to get him. A midsummer three-team trade between the Spurs, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento brought Barnes to San Antonio. While the trade was centered around DeMar DeRozan going to Sacramento, perhaps Barnes becoming a Spur could prove to be the more valuable piece in the trade.

From a basketball perspective, Barnes's value is high, thanks to his consistency. The former Sacramento starter will be a huge asset in San Antonio as a catch-and-shoot threat, making it easy for Paul and Castle as he molds into a better playmaker. By the numbers, Barnes is a 39% three-point shooter in his career. This aspect of Barnes' game can improve a Spurs team that was the 28th-best three-point shooting team in 2023.

The former Tar Heel will likely trail only Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell in points per game this season because of the variety of ways he can score. Barnes can be that "stretch-four" that the Spurs have wanted for so long. Even if he is not a longtime asset, what he brings to the team on offense now is still imperative.

On defense, Barnes is just as effective and will be a great defensive boost for the Spurs. With his size (6'9" and 7-foot wingspan) and level of toughness, he will fit perfectly next to Wembanyama and others on that side of the floor. Overall, this is an extremely underrated move for a team trying to get back into contention. The writing is on the wall; Barnes could be one of the most valuable veteran acquisitions in team history.