San Antonio Spurs' Devin Vassell Continues Showing All-Star Flashes in Win vs. Houston Rockets

While all the attention has understandably been on rookie Victor Wembanyama through the first two games of the NBA season, San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell has already been using the newfound spotlight to showcase why he's one of the more talented young players in the NBA.

The Spurs won their first game of the season on Friday in a 126-122 overtime win over the Houston Rockets at Frost Bank Center. And though Wembanyama proved to be the reason the Spurs rallied late, it was Vassell that led the way once again.

Leading the Spurs in scoring for the second consecutive game, Vassell tied the game-high on Friday with 25 points on 7 of 13 shooting to go along with three rebounds and two assists.

"I think the game has definitely slowed down for me," Vassell said after the game. "I've been patient, I've been working all summer. It's all I did all summer was just stay in the gym. That's what I'm trying to show this season is that I've been in the gym and I want to take over. I want to be the leader of this team."

Vassell continued to show tough shot-making ability and mid-range prowess while also handling the ball for the offense in critical moments. He added to his scoring versatility by working himself free off the ball through cuts to the rim or off the catch as a shooter.

Still coming into his own as a distributor, he had a timely alley-oop to Zach Collins in overtime that extended the lead to 117-111 and helped maintain San Antonio's momentum.

"Me getting downhill especially a lot in the fourth quarter and overtime, I seen that the big kept stepping up," Vassell said. "So I knew that as soon as I got downhill, that he was gonna step up and Zach was gonna have that lob. ... That's gonna be here. We gotta see Zach, we gotta see Vic on those lobs."

Though it's only been two games, Vassell leads the Spurs in scoring with 24 points per game through the first pair of contests. If he's able to maintain a steady role as San Antonio's go-to guy on offense, an All-Star nod could soon be coming his way.

The Spurs will take on the Los Angeles Clippers at crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 8 p.m. CT.