Predicting how many wins the San Antonio Spurs will stack this season

The San Antonio Spurs are going to be must-see TV in 2025. Every basketball fan is keeping an eye on Victor Wembanyama to see if he can take this team to the next level. The Spurs' success will depend on how far Wembanyama can lead them, as the French phenom displayed superstar qualities as the year progressed.

Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs' staff understand that it is in their best interest to build their team around their young star. As a result, they have brought in Chris Paul and drafted Stephon Castle (No. 5 overall selection in 2024), both of whom will have a significant impact on the team.

The Spurs appear to have learned their lesson after the unsuccessful Jeremy Sochan point guard experience in 2024, and now Paul will be the one to step in right away and be effective.

Even at age 39 last year, Paul was in the top five in assists per game (per 36 minutes), coming off the bench for the Golden State Warriors in 2024. Considered the best pure point guard of his generation, Paul's veteran leadership will put Wemby in better positions to score, catapulting his potential.

There is a good chance for Wemby to be in the running for both the Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards by the year's end.

The Spurs' role players will also have a significant impact on the team's success this season. When Devin Vassell returns, he is expected to become the team's second option. There is also potential for players like Sochan, Keldon Johnson, and the dynamic rookie Stephon Castle to make significant progress in 2025.

Ultimately, the Spurs have a strong lineup heading into the season, generating high excitement for the team. However, it's difficult to predict how many games the Spurs will win.

Evaluating the Spurs schedule for the 2024-25 season

The Spurs have a middle-of-the-pack strength-of-schedule (ranked 13-17 depending on the media outlet) and will probably play most of their challenging games from January to March. During this time, they have games scheduled against teams that are all in the top 10 in the early season power rankings.

Current odds from the Vegas Insider suggest the Spurs are expected to win 35 games, marking a 14-game increase from last season. Such a significant improvement would be a major step forward for San Antonio.

Last season, there was one major factor for the Spurs' struggles, and it came from their play in the fourth quarter. The Spurs were hindered last season by their inability to finish in close games. They ranked near the bottom of the league in efficiency under two minutes, highlighting the need for improvement in that area for this season.

Close finishes often separate good teams from poor teams because game plans change during crunch time, and only a select few teams can quickly adapt to win games. With this revamped, more experienced roster and the development of younger stars, the Spurs have what it takes to improve in this department.

When the playoffs approach, it would make sense for the Spurs to be competing for the 9th or 10th spot in the Western Conference, finding their way into the Play-In tournament.

The last time the Spurs made the Play-In tournament was in the 2021-2022 season when they lost in round one to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Spurs have not won a playoff series since the 2016-2017 season, which was right before the ugly breakup with superstar Kawhi Leonard took place.

Landing the 9th or 10th seed and a spot in the play-in tournament could bring a lot of confidence to a young team, especially Wemby himself. This could give the Spurs a late-season morale boost and help the Spurs perhaps win a few games in the post-season if, in fact, they advance.

The 2024-25 Spurs seem fitting for a 42-40 regular season record

In a loaded Western Conference, the Spurs hitting this mark is wildly possible, but it will not come easy. Teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets all finished within a spot or two of the Spurs last season but are primed for bounce-back seasons.

Memphis, Utah, and Houston all have solid young talent and Memphis in particular is looking forward to having a healthy Ja Morant who will likely return to his All-Star status soon.

When you consider it, landing the No. 9-10 seed and winning over 40 games would be a best-case scenario for the Spurs this season. Achieving this would represent a significant improvement, especially given the disappointing results of the last five years.

Despite a ton of fun moments, last year's team was bad, so it should be easy for the guys to eclipse the previous season's struggles in some form or another.

The Spurs now get set for their first game against the powerful Dallas Mavericks, who are coming off of a trip to the NBA Finals. Fans in San Antonio cannot wait to see what the season has in store for their beloved Spurs.