Through NBA's 'Dog Days,' Spurs Holding Themselves to Same Standard

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama sat freely in a makeshift barber's chair: a comfortable, green-lit van seat with enough room above the headrest for clippers to hum. His next look rested in the steady hands of Keldon Johnson.

“I mean, what can go wrong if the plan is to cut it all off?” Wembanyama laughed the following day. “You can’t mess that up.”

Wembanyama went first — Johnson refused the honor, fearing his teammates would back out. Once it became clear only the Frenchman was joining him, the pair compromised. Johnson shaved half of his teammate's head, went bald himself, then doubled back for the rest.

Avoiding a knot on Wembanyama's head from several physical games leading up to the haircut, Johnson took his time. Everything had to go smoothly.

"I was trying to be cautious," he said. "I faded it up a little bit at first, then I gave him a bowl cut, and we went from there."

The San Antonio Spurs' energy man couldn't help but marvel at his handiwork.

"I might be a barber after I'm done," Johnson joked.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) gets his head shaved by forward Keldon Johnson (3) in a van after a road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. | Photo via @spurs on X, formerly Twitter

The decision came after the Spurs dropped a road game to the Oklahoma City Thunder in blowout fashion. Poor shooting once again underscored an unsuccessful attempt to get right after dropping a game to the Minnesota Timberwolves prior.

Whatever high San Antonio was riding after its big-time Christmas Day win over the Thunder wore off. Wembanyama needed a way to regain some control.

"I felt like we had to lock in real quick," he said.

During a seven-game stretch leading into a three-game road trip, the Spurs averaged 27 percent from beyond the arc. Not counting Julian Champagnie's historic night against the New York Knicks, their best shooting game came at home in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers while shooting 32 percent on 10 made 3s.

Its worst came shooting 4-for-25 against the Lakers, which marked "the ugly." And even after improving from distance, a pair of losses to the Thunder and Timberwolves proved more work was needed from everywhere on the floor.

That wasn't lost on Mitch Johnson, tasked with righting the ship at the season's midpoint.

“We have potential to do a lot of great things," the coach said, "and the reality is we’ve not done anything ... we’re a long way from being where we want to be."

Jan 13, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson gestures to his team during a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

San Antonio struggled, at first, to reintegrate Wembanyama into the starting lineup. Without Devin Vassell, shooting woes stemming from inconsistent availability, rotations became glaring. Its struggles epitomize the NBA's "dog days."

“It’s January,” Mitch Johnson said. “You can probably pick your favorite team and they’ve probably had a rough patch in the last month ... not just us."

Still, the Spurs know better than to use it as an excuse.

“That’s just how the season is,” Stephon Castle admitted. “You’ve got to fight through it. You can’t really take games off. It really doesn’t matter how your body is feeling. You just have to go out there and perform.”

At the halfway point of the season, the Spurs have met the goal set by Wembanyama during training camp. Securing a top-six seed to avoid the Western Conference Play-In Tournament seemed, at the time, lofty. It's proven to be realistic since.

Despite a 6-6 record in its last 12 games, San Antonio remains in control of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. A tie with the Denver Nuggets, who are still navigating life sans Nikola Jokić, falls in the Spurs' favor because they beat them.

Such a result has been far from scarce this season.

"We can beat anybody," Wembanyama said in French, "and we’ve beaten almost everybody, but we’re still way too inconsistent, we still suffer a lot from our own mistakes."

Jan 15, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson in the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Poor shooting has been the primary suspect of losses this season. Turnovers, rebounding and perimeter defense have all rotated into said slot from game to game; the Spurs are aware of every issue that's plagued them thus far.

They're also aware of the dangers of ups and downs. Going two games on, two games off and two games on again won't be sustainable down the stretch.

"We're just tightening things up," Keldon Johnson said in response. "Continuing to control what we can control. If we have fun, play together ... for each other, we'll be just fine."

Sitting in the makeshift barber chair, Johnson had a ball. When it was his turn to shave Wembanyama's head, he made sure his teammate found the same enjoyment. No matter how many sweaty head days awaited the pair, both were smiling.

"Bad things happen, I guess, when we lose to OKC,” De'Aaron Fox laughed.

As a bald-headed Victor Wembanyama continues to lead the Spurs through the dog days, he'll continue to search for a rhythm on offense. The same standard he sets for himself is the standard San Antonio sets across the board.

Midway through the season, the Spurs know what lies ahead.

"The progress we made at the beginning of the season really raised our ceiling a lot," Wembanyama said. "Now, it’s our floor that we need to raise.”