After the All-Star break, as we go into the business end of the season, talk of the playoffs has gradually begun to appear on NBA shows. During a post-game broadcast, the NBA on TNT panel recently talked about the emergence of two surprising teams in the Western Conference this year: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Shaquille O’Neal then mentioned the San Antonio Spurs and how they might experience something similar in the upcoming years.
Shaq and Charles Barkley speak about Spurs
To say that the Spurs’ 2023–24 season has been poor would be an understatement. Shaq said,
“My thing with San Antonio, they gotta get really busy this summer. We know what kind of player they got [in Wembanyama]. They gotta put some players around him. Because all that was cute but it’s still 12-48,”
Additionally, he voiced his conviction that, with Gregg Popovich still leading the club, the Spurs could replicate the system they had under Tim Duncan and company.
Kenny Smith mirrored Shaq’s urgency, while Charles Barkley took a more relaxed stance, offering the squad three more years to sort things out: “The youth movement is done…Now it’s time to add to that veterans and try to win games and not be in the lottery.”
Barkley, however, reminded the Spurs to exercise patience and pointed out how far away they are from having a winning record. He appeared to think that the Spurs would be unwise to make any trades in the summer if they wanted to win the NBA right away. Wemby is still having a great rookie season, averaging 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds.
