Grading the San Antonio Spurs Picks in the 2026 NBA Draft
The Spurs picked Jayden Quaintance as their first of four picks in the draft (Photo via X)
The 2026 NBA Draft was a bit of a surprising one for the San Antonio Spurs. And not necessarily because of the players the Spurs picked.
First of all, it was surprising that the Spurs made four selections in this draft. They entered the draft with four picks but I didn’t think they’d come away with four players.
Secondly, they made a move to trade up in the draft — something San Antonio has rarely done over the decades.
Third of all, the Spurs picked three 22-year-olds. Considering that the Spurs have prioritized teenagers in recent years, this sudden comfort with older prospects was a bit of a surprise. However, it was part of the suspected change in San Antonio’s draft strategy.
Let’s take a look at each of the four picks the Spurs made in the draft.
The Spurs Pick Jayden Quaintance at No. 20
Grade: B+
This was a little bit of a surprise — but not an absolute shocker considering Quaintance was No. 18 in my final Big Board. This 18-year-old was an absolute beast as a defender at the college level. The 6-foot-10, 254-pound center is a great shot blocker, very nimble out on the perimeter, a dominant rebounder and possesses impressive instincts.
Quaintance was a lottery level talent … but there was one major catch. While playing at Arizona State as a 17-year-old freshman, he suffered a major knee injury. He not only tore his ACL, he suffered a torn meniscus and also broke a bone in his knee. After transferring to Kentucky, Quaintance was only able to play a handful of games as a sophomore before swelling forced him to the sidelines.
This is what I wrote about Quaintance prior to the draft:
“Before the ACL tear, it wouldn’t have been much of an exaggeration to say Wembanyama and Quaintance were the two best defensive prospects on earth. Obviously, Wembanyama was in a category of his own overall, but JQ’s ability to block shots, switch and cover ground was special. His offense may never be more than lobs and putbacks, but if the Spurs think he can give them 10 to 15 minutes per game by the 2027-28 season, he becomes justifiable at No. 20 and a dream gamble at No. 35.”
The Spurs ended up not wanting to risk it and see if he dropped to the second round. I’m okay with that. The more important news came after the draft when Spurs general manager Brian Wright said the team had Quaintance in for a visit and the doctors were able to take a long look at his knee and were able to sift through his medical records.
Considering that the doctors gave the Spurs a green light to draft Quaintance, I’m pretty darn excited. This kid is a special, special defensive prospect.
I’m giving the Spurs a B+ on this pick. That’s factoring in the unsurprising news that Quaintance will likely need another surgery and could miss some — if not all — of next season. I’m also factoring in the chance (I’d say it’s about a 20% chance [I’m just estimating, I have no way to give an accurate percentage]) that Quaintance simply never recovers enough to even begin his NBA career.
There are very real risks at this point. Quaintance not only has to return from a serious injury, he needs to make up for lost development time in what should have been a vital period of growth in his career.
But, oh my gosh, if he can get healthy, get back on track and live up to his potential, this Quaintance pick could be an extremely important one at some point down the line.
While I’ve seen some talk about Quaintance playing with Victor Wembanyama, I see him as more of a 10 to 15 minute player off the bench whose job is to retain the defensive intensity when Wembanyama is on the bench. Imagine the tall Frenchman going to the bench and the Spurs not falling off defensively. After the playoff run we just witnessed, that alone will feel miraculous.
Good pick. Brave pick. Exciting pick. There’s some risk but the Spurs picking JQ after the doctors gave the a-okay is one of the better outcomes with that selection.
The Spurs Pick Tarris Reed Jr. at No. 26
Grade: B
San Antonio almost never trades up in the first round. The most notable instance is the Spurs moving up to draft Kawhi Leonard. (Honestly, I don’t even remember another instance at any point in the last 30 years but that would require too much research to verify.)
But in the 2026 NBA Draft, that’s exactly what the good guys did to select Reed at No. 26. To acquire this pick from the Denver Nuggets, the Spurs traded No. 35 in this year’s draft, a 2028 second round pick via the Minnesota Timberwolves and a 2031 second round pick via the Sacramento Kings.
Giving up two second round picks to move up nine spots might seem like a lot — but I think that was a reasonable price. The talent in this draft fell quite a bit outside of the top 30 or so players, so moving up to grab a targeted prospect makes sense. Furthermore, the Spurs have so many second round picks in the pipeline that getting any value out of them can be difficult — so I liked this use of their future assets.
As for Reed, I think he’s pretty good. I think an upper level outcome is a better passing version of Nazr Mohammed. Meaning he scores around the rim with simple but powerful moves, rebounds well and blocks some shots. If he can make strong, simple, winning plays in noncomplicated situations, I think there’s some usefulness here.
At about 6-foot-11 and 264 pounds, Reed was the heaviest player at the combine who stayed in the draft. As that weight suggests, he’s a bulky dude who throws his weight around.
But, wait, why would the Spurs pick two backup centers in the first round? It simply comes down to Quaintance. He might need a redshirt season next year. Even if he plays, he’s probably too green to trust in the playoffs right away. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, there are outcomes where Quaintance simply is never able to play pro basketball due to injury.
Reed is basically the exact opposite of Quaintance. While JQ is 18, Reed will be 23 by the start of training camp. Hell, he’s older than Wembanyama.
There’s a chance Reed is ready to play Day 1. At UConn, he was under a lot of pressure and a lot was asked of him this season. He responded by averaging 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks while hitting better than 60% of his field goal attempts. He helped carry UConn to the championship game as arguably their best player.
Given those circumstances, the jump to the NBA shouldn’t be too gargantuan. He should be able to play backup center minutes at an adequate level pretty quickly.
Like Quaintance, I see Reed mostly playing behind Wembanyama. He’s a non-shooter and lacks wing-level mobility so it’d be difficult to find situations where they can play together. That said, if Reed keeps building upon his underrated passing skills, there are pathways where he could eventually play minutes with Wembanyama down the line.
All in all, I like the pick. I’ll give it a B because the Spurs had to give up assets to draft a player who probably will never have the wherewithal to be anything other than a backup center. But, again, I thought the price was reasonable and I don’t mind that the Spurs took two cracks in the first round at filling the long-term backup center role.
The Spurs Pick Ja’Kobi Gillespie at No. 42
Grade: B-
Hmm … interesting. Gillespie is a point guard who measured shorter than 6-foot at the combine. He’s also not especially strong or known for his defensive play.
With Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox on the roster as highly capable point guards, at first glance you’d think the Spurs needed another point guard like they needed another Plumlee brother. And at second and third glance, if we’re being honest.
But, yeah, I kinda get it. I had Gillespie 49th on the final Big Board so this wasn’t completely out of left field. Gillespie was one of the top two or three best players during the scrimmages at the combine — and the Spurs always highly value those scrimmages. In the first half of one of the games, he exploded for 24 points and his shot-making looked very impressive.
The 22-year-old out of Tennessee is a volume three-point shooter with good touch who racks up steals while limiting turnovers. He’s an okay-ish playmaker but shines more as a scorer who takes care of the ball.
Why would the Spurs pick Gillespie? He’ll be valuable as a point guard in Austin right away. He can work on his playmaking while learning the system. Eventually, if everything goes right, he’s a good enough shooter to help space the court at the NBA level.
Ultimately, though, it’ll be a win if he’s a better version of Jordan McLaughlin at some point down the line. If he can be a third point guard who can step in and hit shots if the matchups allow him to survive on the court at his small stature, that’d be a good outcome.
Overall, the pick of Gillespie is fine. Getting a high-quality point guard for Austin who could eventually add shooting in a specialized role is a good get at 42.
The Spurs Pick Maliq Brown at No. 44
Grade: B
Brown at No. 44 was a cool pick. I had him No. 42 on the final Big Board so there’s no complaining about the value.
It’s cool because the Spurs basically tripled down on center depth and defense. While Brown is only about 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds, he’s going to have to play center in the NBA because he’s such a zero on offense. He can’t shoot threes, can’t shoot free throws and even seems to get nervous when the ball is in his hands.
But, damn, Brown is one helluva defender. He has incredible hands, incredible reflexes and is blessed with a very high basketball IQ on that end. His manipulation and anticipation are off the charts. To put him in a Spurs context, he’s like Boris Diaw but instead of being a savant on the offensive end, he’s a savant on the defensive end.
Then again, it’s tough to make it at 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds when he can’t do anything of note on offense. That’s why he lasted all the way to pick No. 44 even though he was clearly a top five defender in college basketball.
The way Brown survives in the NBA is playing with four-out spacing around him. I can imagine him playing with Wembanyama and just staying in the dunker’s spot on offense. He’s athletic enough to finish alleyoops or score against rotating coverages at the rim. And then on the other end, Wembanyama and Brown would be a nightmarish combination for other teams to deal with.
I mean, if we’re being honest, he’s a second round pick so the most likely scenario is that Brown’s offensive limitations don’t allow him to make it. To put a number on it, there’s probably a greater than 90% chance he’s out of the NBA within a few years.
But, holy cow, if Brown figures out how to do just enough on offense to allow him to stay on the court, his defense is guaranteed to be pretty darn valuable. I like this sort of gamble and leaning into the team’s potential defensive dominance is a strategy I find commendable … and exciting.
Final Thoughts
I’m pleased with this draft by the Spurs. Prior to the draft, I didn’t think it made sense to keep four players. But the uniqueness of how things played out made adding four players justifiable.
Instead of crowding the roster, the Spurs basically took three shots at backup centers — and all three are different. You have the long-term gamble, the bruiser ready in the short-term and the one who makes sense next to Wembanyama. On top of that, the Spurs took a point guard who should be highly useful in the G League who can eventually fill the McLaughlin role.
Even then, the Spurs will probably still re-sign McLaughlin if that was their plan before the draft. So basically the only Spurs player who saw his status change was Luke Kornet. And even he is all but guaranteed to be brought back another season.
I think it’s fair for Kornet to be feeling some heat. In the playoffs, the Spurs were 14 points worse per 100 possessions when he was on the court. That’s an outrageously bad number — even factoring in Wembanyama’s greatness.
For the Spurs to win a championship, they need to figure out the non-Wembanyama minutes. Compared to Kornet, Reed adds interior scoring, more brute strength and arguably better hands. My guess is that Kornet will remain the better player next season but Reed at the very least adds a different dimension.
Then, if JQ gets healthy, his unholy defensive potential makes him a near perfect Wembanyama backup. Brown, meanwhile, is the wildcard who gives different possible solutions to the big man rotation.
In one night, Brian Wright and the front office added a lot of potential answers to a rotation that felt too small in general and too fragile behind Wembanyama. And they did so without disturbing the foundation. Job well done.