Spurs Season-In-Review: Devin Vassell Continues Ascent Toward Secondary Star Status

Now entering a five-year extension where he's set to be a featured scorer next to Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell has a lot more to prove, but he's ready for the challenge.

Feb 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) and guard Tre Jones (33) slaps hands after a play against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Delta Center. / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The first season since Devin Vassell signed a massive five-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs came and went rather quickly. And with all the hype surrounding Victor Wembanyama, it made sense that a lot of the attention he was set to receive fell somewhat to the wayside.

But not all the way.

Signing for $146 million meant that while Vassell wasn't on a max deal, he was still being paid like a franchise cornerstone. San Antonio hoped his play would reflect that — and had confidence that it would — but while he did show flashes of the standout player he could be, he also showed he had more room to grow.

Averaging 19.5 points, 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds on 47.2 percent shooting from the floor and 37.2 percent from 3, Vassell had himself a solid season.

READ MORE: How Devin Vassell Has Begun to Truly Flourish As Spurs Leader

He was the closest Spur to cracking 20 points per game that wasn't Wembanyama, who did achieve the feat with 21.4 points a game, and proved to be a valuable piece of his team's offense, especially when he was healthy. That much he already knew.

"I feel like I've shown when I'm healthy, I can play with the best of them," the shooting guard said last season of his potential. "I don't have any regrets from this season. Everybody in the organization knows that when I'm healthy ... the team (plays) a great game."

Mar 23, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) shoots in the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

As the season went on, Vassell followed the tide. The Spurs started out surprisingly fast with a pair of wins over the Phoenix Suns, but later hit a slump that defined their pre-All Star Break slate. Wembanyama was learning his way and the rest of the team — Vassell included — was learning how to play with the rookie.

Luckily, Vassell earned Wembanyama's respect early on.

"It's [been] great to see Devin's development over the last few years, but also this season," Wembanyama told reporters of his teammate in French last season. "I can see that our duo can become very interesting and it's developing. ... He’s part of the future of the franchise." 

After All-Star came and went — just as quickly as the entire season seemed to — San Antonio found a different groove behind Wembanyama. He and Vassell.

"We were really catching our groove," Vassell said. "Coach Pop challenged us as soon as we came back from All-Star Break to basically be better than we were all-around."

READ MORE: How Wembanyama Became the Hero of San Antonio's 'Superpower'

Vassell ended up missing the final eight games of the season with a stress reaction in his foot, joining Jeremy Sochan in the reserves in what became a wash for the Spurs record-wise.

An 82 game season that saw 60 losses for the Silver & Black might have looked horrendous on paper, but the number of games they won was trivial considering the slow nature of their upward trajectory. Wembanyama stands tall at its center, but Vassell plays just as big a role.

"He was spectacular," Gregg Popovich said of Vassell after the shooting guard notched the second 30-point performance of his season. "We tried to kind of convince him that he sells himself short if he just thinks of himself as a shooter. He has so much more."

Mar 3, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich shakes hands with San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Expanding his game beyond his shooting will be imperative to Vassell's overall production in San Antonio. Learning to not only score beside Wembanyama, but also set him up would take the Spurs from a squad centered around one player to one with multiple threats.

The 24-year-old — now entering the first year of his rookie extension — knows where he's left room for improvement. He also knows that in order to achieve that, he'll need to play more games. Sixty-eight isn't a bad number, but it's not 82.

That's his ultimate goal.

"I'm excited to work with these guys ... our chemistry is great," Vassell said. "I just want to turn this thing around and have a really, really good season.

"I want to play all 82 next year."

Final Grade: B