First Round Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are on to the second round (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs took care of business in the first round by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in five games to advance. It wasn’t always clean. San Antonio lost a fourth quarter lead in Game 2, had to survive Game 3 without Victor Wembanyama and trailed by 17 points at halftime in Game 4.
But in the end, the Spurs were clearly the better team. Their defense tightened in vital stretches, the youngsters didn’t blink and San Antonio’s depth showed up enough to keep Portland from ever truly taking control.
Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama missed Game 3 with a concussion but still put his fingerprints all over this series. In four games, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 4.0 blocks while shooting 58.3% from the field, 53.8% from three and 91.3% from the line.
His true shooting percentage was 72.2% — an incredible number considering Portland’s entire defensive gameplan revolved around making life difficult for him. For context, Jalen Duren led the NBA in true shooting percentage during the 2025-26 regular season at 68.8%.
Offensively, he had stretches where he looked impossible to guard. Just as importantly, he didn’t always try to beat the Blazers by himself. When Portland loaded up, he usually made the smart play and let his teammates operate. Defensively, he was the biggest reason Portland eventually ran out of answers. When locked in, the Blazers had very little access to the rim.
A few sporadic stretches where he looked sped up are the only things keeping this from being a perfect grade in his first ever playoff series. If, like some of us here in the region, you had to run to check on your perpetual crawl space leak a couple of times, you might have even thought it was a perfect grade.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
Fox’s series was a slow build — and a worrying one, for a while. Early on, he didn’t look like the player the Spurs need him to be. He struggled late in Game 2, had an uneven Game 3 and wasn’t always dictating the action, especially late in close games.
Thankfully, Fox found his groove as the series progressed. In Games 4 and 5, he looked far more comfortable. The coaching staff got him the ball in better spots, he attacked with more confidence and he started making Portland pay for giving him room to breathe.
For the series, Fox averaged 20.2 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 37% from three. His assist-to-turnover ratio was a sterling 3.4-to-1. It wasn’t a perfect first round but, by the end of it, Fox looked like a player capable of steering the ship when it’s needed most.
Grade: B+
Stephon Castle
Castle’s first-round series had real highs and a few pretty obvious lows. He averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds, strong counting stats in his postseason debut. For a 21-year-old in his second NBA season carrying that kind of offensive responsibility, he did well.
The biggest positive was the shooting. Portland’s strategy was to sag off Castle and dare him to fire away. For the series, he hit 40.7% of his three-pointers on 5.4 attempts per game. That was an important development — if opponents can’t ignore Castle, San Antonio’s offense becomes a much harder puzzle to solve.
Defensively, Castle did his job. He aggressively guarded out on the perimeter and brought the needed physicality to the table. He flashed his elite potential on that end of the court.
The downside for Castle in this series was the sloppiness. He averaged 3.6 turnovers, fouled too much and lost his composure in Game 5. Castle plays with force and courage but sometimes that bleeds into recklessness. That needs to be cleaned up if this squad hopes to be a true championship caliber team.
All in all, though, this was a promising series. Castle showed his game can hold up — and even thrive — in a playoff environment.
Grade: B+
Devin Vassell
Vassell’s numbers don’t jump off the page but his impact was better than his statistics. He averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds but he shot only 28.6% from three-point land, so there’s no way to call this a great offensive series. His two-point percentage (48.5%) also underwhelmed.
That said, Vassell did a lot of winning things. He was more bouncy than usual when going for rebounds. His defense was more active. He repeatedly delivered important plays when contests started to tighten. In Games 1 and 2, there were stretches where he looked like San Antonio’s most important player outside of Wembanyama.
It goes without saying that his marksmanship needs to be better going forward, especially because playoff defenses are going to crowd the paint against Wembanyama, Fox, Castle and Harper if San Antonio’s perimeter shooting doesn’t hold up. Even with the shaky shooting, Vassell’s effort, defense, passing and timely playmaking made this a positive series overall.
Grade: B+
Dylan Harper
Harper’s first playoff series was a major win for the Spurs. He averaged 12.6 points in 25.4 minutes while shooting 56.1% from the field and 50% from three. For a young guard in his first postseason, that’s outstanding efficiency.
His Game 3 was the headliner. With Wembanyama out and the Spurs in trouble on the road, Harper played like a future star. He attacked the rim, hit big threes, rebounded with vigor and helped San Antonio steal a game that changed the direction of the series. There were quiet stretches after that — which is to be expected from a rookie — but Harper’s strength, confidence, quick hands and ability to create offense translated better than anticipated.
The Spurs entered this series hoping Harper could survive it. They leave the series knowing there’s something special inside of this kid.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie did his job really well. He averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 58.6% from the field and 61.9% from three. When Portland helped off of him, he punished them. His true shooting percentage was 80.6%, a truly remarkable number even with a small sample size — and his 0.6 turnovers per game in nearly 29 minutes is the kind of mistake-free efficiency that will keep him as an unquestionable starter going forward.
The best thing about Champagnie’s series was he didn’t try to do too much. He took the right shots, made the right passes and kept it clean. Defensively, there were moments where his lack of elite athleticism showed; Portland’s speed sometimes made him look a half-step slow. But when a role player shoots it this well, competes and avoids mistakes, he’s done his job.
Grade: A-
Luke Kornet
Kornet was quietly one of the most important players in the series. He averaged 8.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.4 minutes while shooting 62.1% from the field. His offensive rebounding — 3.4 boards per game on that end — was especially impactful.
When Wembanyama went down in Game 2 and missed Game 3, Kornet gave the Spurs exactly what they needed. He set smart screens, rolled with purpose, authored the right passes, sturdily rebounded and protected the rim well enough to prevent the series from slipping away when the towering Frenchman sat. His Game 3 specifically was a huge reason San Antonio survived without its superstar.
Game 4 was the obvious low point for Kornet. He struggled badly when Wembanyama sat and couldn’t stop the bleeding. But he bounced back in Game 5 and was mostly dependable throughout the round. For a backup center with large shoes to fill, this was strong work.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
Johnson’s series was underwhelming. He averaged only 6.2 points in 18.8 minutes and shot 35.5% from the field. His burly drives into traffic — the bread and butter of his game — mostly came up empty. His defense was a mixed bag throughout.
The positives were his energy and rebounding. Johnson averaged 4.4 boards in limited minutes and had stretches where his physicality helped. But, overall, the Spurs could have used more from their Sixth Man of the Year. He didn’t provide consistent scoring, didn’t bend Portland’s defense and wasn’t reliable enough defensively to offset the offensive struggles. He didn’t sink the Spurs … but he also didn’t give them the boost they’ve come to expect.
Grade: C-
Carter Bryant
Bryant’s raw averages — 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.2 minutes — don’t tell the story. In reality, he had one of the more memorable individual stretches of the entire series.
Game 3 was his statement. His defense was spectacular. He guarded in space, helped at the rim, battled on the glass, and gave San Antonio a level of athleticism and fearlessness they desperately needed with Wembanyama out. He also showed genuine flashes as a passer and connective offensive piece in a role he’d rarely played during the regular season.
Ultimately, though, the coaching staff went back to veterans in Games 4 and 5, limiting Bryant’s chance to build on his breakout. Still, when a rookie can swing a road playoff game with defense, energy and courage, that’s big time stuff.
Grade: B+
Harrison Barnes
Barnes had a rough series and the numbers reflect it. He averaged 2.2 points and 0.8 rebounds in 11.4 minutes and didn’t make a single three-pointer in the entire round. His rebounding was lacking. His defense was below average. His offensive role kept shrinking.
There were a few moments where his veteran steadiness was visible, but those moments were far too rare to matter. At this point, it’s difficult to justify keeping Barnes in the rotation. The Spurs don’t need him to be a star — they just need him to get hot from three-point range from time to time. As it stands, that looks like it may be too much to ask.
Grade: D
Mitch Johnson
Coach Mitch had an uneven but ultimately successful series. He deserves credit for having the Spurs ready in Game 1, adjusting after Fox’s slow start and helping San Antonio find better ways to get the veteran point guard moving downhill as the series progressed.
His best night was Game 3. With Wembanyama out, he trusted Harper and Bryant in crunch time on the road and both rewarded him. That took real guts. Most coaches play it safe and lean on the veterans. Johnson found a lineup with enough juice to flip the series and didn’t shy away from what was working.
The warts were real, though. The Game 2 fourth quarter was rough. Continuing to play Barnes over Bryant became harder to justify as the series went on. And the Spurs had too many stretches of looking unready to compete — a trait that needs to be cleaned up before the start of the second round.
Big picture-wise, Coach Mitch won the series rather easily, navigated Wembanyama’s concussion and got meaningful contributions from multiple young players. That’s a quality first round showing for a head coach who has never done any of this before.
Grade: B+