‘Like An Escape’: In Face of Adversity, Spurs Turn to Hardwood ‘Sanctuary’

The San Antonio Spurs couldn't escape happenstance in a tumultuous NBA season, but with basketball at their disposal, hardwood actually softened the blow.

Feb 25, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) and forward Keldon Johnson (0) chase a loose ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO — The first text Keldon Johnson received after the San Antonio Spurs spoiled Kevin Durant's homecoming in Austin, Texas came from Victor Wembanyama.

"Great win," it read.

The 21-year-old superstar, as soon as the game ended, made clear that even with his season over due to deep vein thrombosis, he'd be checking in — likely often. That much alone didn't patch the gap he left, as not even Chris Paul boosted on a teammates' shoulders could, but it provided solace.

And additional motivation.

"We know that when Vic's here, it's just a whole other level," Keldon Johnson said. "He's one of the most amazing people to be around. Not having him here, it sucks, but we know that if he was here, this is how he would want it."

READ MORE: Ever the Captain, Chris Paul Ushers in Spurs' New Reality

A similar sentiment hung over the locker room when septuagenarian coach Gregg Popovich left the team to focus on recovering from a mild stroke. And again when it lost three of its members for De'Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin. It was a happy change, but one nonetheless.

In spite of everything, basketball remained the only constant. It served as a hardwood sanctuary. The Spurs welcomed it. They played basketball, and they forgot. Even if just for a couple of hours.

"Everything that we've been through this year," Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said, "when you're on the court, it just becomes a game ... the same game these guys loved playing as a kid. It's their sanctuary; a getaway."

Feb 26, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) smiles before the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Rookie Duties

For Stephon Castle, a basketball getaway was essential.

Because his real getaway was, in a literal sense, stuck.

After a March 12 win over the Dallas Mavericks on the second night of a two-game home series, Castle trotted out to the team parking lot with a slew of cameras on him. Something was up. He quickly learned what.

Sandro Mamukelashvili — a four-year Spurs veteran — had acquired the help of a local San Antonio auto mechanic to remove all four tires off Castle's white Toyota Supra. Why? He'd fallen short of some of his "rookie duties."

“I was shook,” Castle said.

READ MORE: Mamukelashvili Reminds Spurs What Winning Feels Like

Mamukelashvili admitted that the prank was only a go if San Antonio secured a win. Granted, they were hard to come by. It was almost a wash.

"I was sitting there like this," Mamukelashvili said, laughing as he flipped between a thumbs up and thumbs down gesture. "Once we secured a little bit of the lead, I was like: 'Come on! Go!'"

San Antonio Spurs took Stephon Castles’ wheels off of his Toyota Supra to prank the rookie 😂😳 pic.twitter.com/zKOBbebSk9

— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) March 13, 2025

Getting the win meant that the Spurs were able to "fully enjoy" the prank — Castle included. In the weeks leading up, he'd simultaneously become one of Mitch Johnson's most consistent pieces and a rising star around the league.

"We've thrown a lot of things at him," Mitch Johnson said. "He had to start early on because of health issues and availability and then we brought him off the bench. Then he started again. Then we brought him off the bench."

As far as his teammates were concerned, he was still a 20-year-old rookie.

READ MORE: Spurs' Barnes' Veteran Impact Goes Beyond Basketball

“He deserved it for sure,” De’Aaron Fox joked. "I was a great rookie. Steph doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t do any rookie duties ... does he bring anything to the plane? Does he bring any food, snacks? The least he could do is pass the shoes out at shootaround."

“That was hilarious," Jeremy Sochan added. " (He was at) a loss for words but, you know, it happens."

Since the incident, Castle hasn't quite improved on his rookie duties. As inconvenient as it was to watch his tires be reinstalled in the tunnel, he couldn't help but make light of Mamukelashvili's madness. It was needed.

Especially with as much happenstance as San Antonio was yet to encounter.

'Can't Push Pause'

The news was inevitable. That didn't make it sting any less.

Fox, after arriving in San Antonio at the trade deadline to bolster the Wembanyama-led Spurs in their quest for Western Conference contention, decided to undergo a surgery in Los Angeles on March 18 to repair ligament damage in his left fifth finger.

The point guard sustained the injury during training camp with the Sacramento Kings and had been playing with his two leftmost fingers taped together since. He couldn't tell you the medical specifics that his procedure involved, but if it helped him make a return to basketball, he was in.

"I don't need to understand," Fox laughed. "As long as I'll be fixed, I'm good."

READ MORE: How Spurs' Castle Proved De'Aaron Fox Right

Fox and Wembanyama played five games together before the latter was ruled out for the remainder of the season. In that span, San Antonio amassed two wins, Fox averaged 21.6 points and nearly two steals next to his new running mate and a cautious optimism hung over the second half of the season.

Once the Wembanyama news broke, it was only a matter of time before the Spurs waved the white flag. That meant 12 more games — four more wins — and ended on a 32-point performance preceding Castle's wheels-off prank.

"You want to be able to get a full offseason in with the guys," Fox said. "That was really a big part ... we want to be able to grow together in the offseason.”

Mar 7, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) high fives team mates after coming out of the game during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Spurs will get a chance to do so, but the immediate effect of Fox's surgery meant life without both stars. Just as it was the year prior to Wembanyama's arrival.

"Everybody was upset," Mamukelashvili said. "He was hooping."

Aided by Paul and Harrison Barnes' veteran impact, the Spurs were, in a sense, back to square one. That was entirely familiar to Keldon Johnson, who was just finding his stride.

According to Mitch Johnson, it was wise they didn't take that for granted.

"He has to," the acting coach said of Keldon Johnson stepping up for San Antonio. "That’s part of the deal.”

READ MORE: Could Spurs Make Offseason Trade for Kevin Durant?

In the four years prior to Wembanyama's arrival, Keldon Johnson improved at a steady rate. His points per game increased as his role grew — both reached a zenith in 2022 — but when the 7-footer arrived, the opposite rang true.

Since then, Keldon Johnson has been relegated to the bench in favor of Wembanyama, Paul, Fox and even Castle. Even so, his mantra didn't change.

He was himself. On the court, he was free.

"Basketball is therapy," Keldon Johnson said. "It's like an escape ... my escape from reality. Whenever times are tough off the court, on the court I still feel like I show utmost gratitude for the game of basketball."

The night that Wembanyama sat out for the first time, Keldon Johnson pitched in an efficient 15 points to help his Spurs past the Suns. From then on, finishing with double digits became as customary as his "contagious" energy.

"I get to be myself at all times," he said. "I get to have fun. Most important, I get to do the thing that I love to do each and every day with people I love. My teammates, those are my brothers."

Mar 10, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) celebrates in the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Watching from the sideline, Fox understood the feeling too well.

"When things are going on in life in general," he began, "whenever you step out there, that's where you don't have to think about those things ... all you're thinking about is what's at hand."

Whether lonesome in a gym or in front of thousands of fans, the Spurs clung to that. Wembanyama was out; so was Fox. But they couldn't afford to dwell.

"When the game comes around, we've got a job to do," Paul said.

“We want to continue to grow," Mitch Johnson added. "Can’t push a pause button because not everybody is available. If you did that in this league, you’d never have any progress.”

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At the end of the third week of March, San Antonio notched back-to-back victories for the first time since the beginning of January. Two days later, they caught another one.

It was surprising to no one inside the Spurs' locker room.

"The standards are the same," Devin Vassell assured with San Antonio's Play-In Tournament hopes not yet dashed. "We've got to keep being competitive. We're playing every game to win."

From Day 1, that was made clear. Bringing in Paul and Barnes suggested a willingness to speed up youth development — trading for Fox backed it up. Even with their stars missing, the Spurs remained committed to that.

"It is wild to think of the circumstances and situations we've been through as a team this year," Paul said. "Everybody understands that basketball is what we do, not who we are. Life is so much more important, but for us, we know losing a big part of our team is by committee."

READ MORE: Gregg Popovich's Enduring Impact Looms Over Spurs

Mitch Johnson said the three-game win streak served as proof of that.

"It is probably three of our best games of playing as consistent as we can for more of the 48 minutes than the other team," he said. "The guys get the credit for that ... they've done a really good job recently of executing that."

Mar 21, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) steps onto the court during the start of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Frost Bank Center. / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The Spurs' acting coach won't willingly admit the thing that makes him a basketball "sicko," but watching the team he inherited near the end of its tumultuous season, he's learned a few things.

For one, it's been through a lot. Him, too.

"You like the fight even when you're losing," he said, "or the agony of defeat ... we've had a steady balance of all of that along with all of the unexpected factors. These guys just keep showing up."

"The season can be unforgiving," he added. "We just continue to bounce back ... that's a testament to their character."

The Spurs lost their leader in Popovich. Then their star — twice. But they refused to lose each other. Mamukelashvili's historic 34-point outing to best the New York Knicks showed it. So did the team prank on Stephon Castle.

"He's threatening me," Mamukelashvili joked of Castle. "I'm not safe. I've been hiding my keys for (the) past two days."

Even a trip back to the day Wembanyama was ruled out, when fans chanted "Wemby" at Austin's Moody Center as his name was missing from the starting lineup, showcased one thing: basketball brought the Spurs together.

It was their hardwood sanctuary that night; it's been their escape every night since. Now, they wait for the game that will let them experience it once more.

"We came together when in need," Keldon Johnson said. "I feel as though we got Vic back 100 percent ... we can't wait to have him back, see him smiling."