Carter Bryant is the Spurs' Next Defensive Star Waiting on the Wing

I must begin by breaking several rules, the first of which I have already broken by addressing you directly in the first person. This is a rule for journalism in general, and I’m breaking it because I need for you to understand that I understand that I’m about to break another rule that applies more specifically to basketball journalism, and even more specifically to evaluating and projecting young players.

When a big wing prospect comes into the NBA with boundless athleticism, long limbs and defensive prowess, many are far too quick to compare him to the greatest player to ever come from that mold. That Guy was probably the most impactful young wing defender in league history and has grown into an MVP-caliber player since then.

The rules for talking about That Guy to an audience of Spurs fans are murky, as Spurs fans are not a monolith and he’s among the most polarizing topics in San Antonio. It’s been 14 years since the Spurs drafted him in the middle of the first round, 12 years since he helped deliver the fans their most recent title, and 8 years since he broke their hearts.

I haven’t used his name yet to make a point about how obvious it is who we’re talking about, but for some Spurs fans it’s still a He Who Must Not Be Named kind of thing.

Others are with Gregg Popovich, who once grabbed the microphone to ask the home fans to stop booing the guy. Many booed even louder in response. Whether you’re over it or you still feel bitter about how he and his uncle left things in the Alamo City, there’s no denying That Guy's greatness on the court.

Comparison is the thief of joy, and this particular comparison is overdone and unfair to both the young prospect and to That Guy, who started as an instant contributor and defensive ace on a contender and morphed into a ball-dominant bucket getter. His career trajectory stands alone and unmatched as a pipe-dream potential outcome for anyone who comes into the league with a plus wingspan, a strong motor, and an iffy jumper. Even if they’re very successful, most won’t come close to being the best in the world.

Spurs rookie Carter Bryant finds himself at a very similar starting point. Drafted in the middle of the first round to a Spurs team with a generational big man and talented guards who pressure the rim, the 6-foot-7 forward has a nearly 7-foot wingspan and a clear pathway to meaningful minutes if he can finish plays on offense, grab boards, and use every bit of his size and athleticism to be a suffocating defender.

The 20-year-old Bryant isn’t afraid to state his lofty goal of becoming the best player in the world. He also isn’t afraid to say he’s inspired by That Guy, or say his name.

“Every day when I wake up and I get the opportunity to play at this level, I get to see a kid that dreams to be in my position one day,” Bryant told Spurs on SI in January. “I just am grateful because I was once that kid. I was once the kid who watched Kawhi Leonard highlights for so long every day. So I think just having that mentality of, you can make somebody's day, you can make somebody's year. You can be somebody's role model. They can look up to you.”

We spoke to Bryant after his first and only game with the G League Austin Spurs on January 9. Buried in the rotation as a rookie on a strong San Antonio team, he went up to Austin for developmental reps and the chance to play the most minutes he’s played in a game since high school.

“It's nothing like getting those live reps, being able to see the ball go through the basket, kind of getting a little bit of confidence shooting the ball, just getting the feel for the game,” he said. “I think that's something a lot of people take for granted. These live reps is just something that you’ve got to take advantage of when you have the opportunity.”

One play in particular highlighted the growth he needs to do, and the reasons the Spurs are so high on him. It started with a youthful mistake as he drove into a crowd and coughed it up. He put his head down and sprinted the length of the court for an explosive chasedown block at the rim before gathering himself and swatting the follow up attempt as well.

Welcome to Carter's Block Party 👋 pic.twitter.com/haxty8UBxx
— Austin Spurs (@austin_spurs) January 10, 2026

“You have to want it,” he said. “You're gonna have to want to get those plays back… I had a few plays where I turned the ball over, just kind of being careless. I’ve got to have more intent, be stronger with the ball. Play off two, fire the pass, get it to the guys’ chest. But you know, those are plays that make up for those sorts of things.”

“Obviously, you wish you could make no mistakes, but if we didn't make mistakes, basketball wouldn't be basketball," he said. "So I think just have an idea of earning every possession back and just trying to limit guys’ paint points. You never know, that guy sees a layup go through, and may give him a little bit of confidence to shoot the ball a little more, and we may be in the dogfight at the end of game. So I think that's just my mentality.”

Bryant went back to the big team immediately, and his confidence has blossomed since. He’s become the tenth man in the rotation, a post that seems securely his after an uneventful trade deadline. It’s becoming more and more clear why the Spurs didn’t make a low-stakes move for an experienced wing to add to the rotation, and are instead giving Bryant the opportunity to play that role.

In the last 10 games he’s averaging 12 minutes and hitting over 42% on 2.6 3-point attempts per game. In that stretch, he has logged a career-high 11 points three times. He’s flying all over the court defensively and playing with confidence.

“When you have a young player, they're never mistake free, so once they figure out that, then sometimes they're free to play with more effort and energy, because the mistakes will be there, and they're going to get yelled at, and they're going to be held accountable, and they're going to continue to learn from them,” said Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.

“I think a lot of times for young guys, and it's a good trait, because that means they care, but when they're trying to not make mistakes, they're trying to be perfect at times, I think you see instances where they don't trust their instincts,” Johnson said. “And most of the guys that get to this league have good instincts, and so it's just It's rewarding to see a young man continue to grow incrementally in that way.”

The last time Bryant hesitated on the court was when he caught the ball open at the arc in the first quarter against the Thunder on February 4. He paused briefly before punishing the lax defense with a jumper, then hit two more from deep in the second quarter. Two games later he once again swung the game in the first half by drilling triples in between show-stopping defensive plays.

Listen. I know everyone compares every big young defensive wings to That Guy.

I know the comparison is rarely warranted, and that nobody has even come close to what That Guy did in his youth, and what he’s become as a player since.

Having said that…pic.twitter.com/fLE4as2pdS
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) February 8, 2026

The most impressive block of the night went down in the stat sheet as a goaltend, but Bryant showcased his leaping ability as he pinned a layup attempt by Cooper Flagg to the top corner of the square on the backboard.

Speaking of Flagg, Bryant has been proving himself against the presumptive Rookie of the Year since Summer League, where he showed off everything that will make him an elite defender in this league.

Cooper Flagg vs. No. 14 pick Carter Bryant 👀

Watch The DEFENSE on this play 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SSpRHueZOu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 12, 2025

Bryant’s fast feet and long arms made it nearly impossible for Dallas’ perimeter players to get around him, and he clamped everyone from Flagg to Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall. As he smothered these players, it jumped out just how big he plays with his combination of size and athleticism.

Speaking of Naji Marshall, Bryant got a bit overzealous and over the back in pursuit of boards, and the 28-year-old Marshall turned around at the whistle to let Bryant know he didn’t appreciate it. The kid we talked to in Austin seems like the kind of polite young man who might apologize for any unintended contact.

Instead, he stepped up toward Marshall confidently. It’s not clear what words were used, but the body language said, “Do we have a problem here? Because I am not afraid of you.” He didn’t lose his cool, but he didn’t back down an inch either.

I expect Carter Bryant to leap over the backboard and wreck stuff on defense, this part surprised me though

Truly an exponential increase in his confidence and comfort level over the last two weekspic.twitter.com/CxeHmjXUs2
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) February 8, 2026

Bryant continues to improve as a shooter, and the same fast-twitch muscles that make him a threatening defender make him a dangerous dunker. Despite a number of missed dunk attempts that threatened to force a shaving of his head, he’s proven he can jump up and throw down with the best of them. The rookie is following in the steps of Stephon Castle, and will represent the Spurs in the Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend.

“I just told him, don't miss, don't miss the first one,” Castle said with a laugh after finishing second last year. “That's all I told him. “I think he got his dunks already, so he should be prepared.”

And a Carter Bryant warmup dunk for the sickos out there! pic.twitter.com/ekOxPDkOOL
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) January 19, 2026

Bryant leaps high enough to look down into the basket on some of his attempts. He’s been putting in a ton of work to harness that ability, including training with Olin Simplis, AKA The Guard Whisperer. Simplis also works with Castle and other NBA stars. He was in town and caught up with Bryant before he set a new career high against the Jazz.

“That's like my uncle,” Bryant said with a smile. “I've been working with O for like, five, six years now, but I've known him for a little bit longer than that. He's a worker. He's a real worker.”

Right now Bryant’s skillset and role is focused on cutting to the basket, spotting up from three, and crashing the boards as a cog in the machine, a system player if you will. The more he plays, the easier it is to understand why he believes he can work his way into being more than that. Simplis gives him that extra boost of training and confidence.

“Having somebody that's seen a lot of guys do it at a high level, and seen really good players that people never thought would be that caliber player, and knowing that he has belief in me… as much as I say you don't want to take the compliments and kind of run with them, and you want to keep working and keep working and try to avoid everything, and just keep on keeping your head down, when you have somebody like that in your ear that really trusts you, like it gives you the sense of self belief. It gives you a second sense of confidence.”

Bryant knows he isn’t perfect, and he knows he has a lot more hard work to do before he can truly be compared to That Guy whose highlights he grew up on. For now, he’s just focused on finding his own way to helping the Spurs do the only thing that really matters.

“Being an elite defender, being able to make shots at a high level, and just being able to win, I think people underestimate the value of winning,” he said. “Winning overshadows a lot. If you can win at a high level, everything else is going to take care of itself. So obviously, things like ball handling, shot making, those things are going to come eventually, but being able to win at the highest level and win consistently, I think (is the goal).”