Why Spurs Rookie Ja'Kobi Gillespie No Longer Feels Like Smallest Player on Court

SAN FRANCISCO — Corliss Williamson knows better than to think too much of it.

After a night in which the Summer Spurs, led by Williamson, opened their Summer League slate at the California Classic in San Francisco with an 88-87 loss to the Miami Heat, the coach wasn't moved by an 18 percent shooting clip from his starting point guard.

Especially when the 22-year-old hadn't played a basketball game since March 29, when his Tennessee Volunteers fell short in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament.

"I think a lot of it is shaking off rust," Williamson began, "and maybe some jitters. Finally making it to the NBA, you miss some of the chippy shots that you're capable of making."

Tucked into a small interview room at Chase Center Friday night, Williamson broke down Ja'Kobi Gillespie's mixed Summer League debut. The point guard shot 3-for-17 from the field, but led the Spurs with eight assists while adding four rebounds and three steals.

Williamson focused more on the intangible pieces of Gillespie's performance.

"He handled the ball well," Williamson said. "He got us organized when we needed to get organized. He was able to get into the paint, get open looks, create for the other guys."

July 3, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (17) backs down a defender against the Miami Heat at the California Classic at Chase Center. | Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Spurs

Gillespie, who signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs just prior to taking the floor on Friday, hails from Tennessee, where he spent most of the season running Rick Barnes' explosive offense. While he expected to face other college superstars in the NBA, he knows one thing will always set him apart from other facilitators.

"I've always been the smallest player (on the floor)," the 6-foot-1 Gillespie said.

Growing up idolizing Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, Gillespie often cited the need to "be a dog" on the floor as an undersized guard looking to impact winning.

While joining the Summer Spurs alleviated the pressure of being the smallest ball handler on the floor — Gillespie is joined by fellow ex-Volunteer Zakai Zeigler, who stands 5-foot-9 — logging a team 29 minutes in Game 1 meant he was expected to perform.

He drew from his past experiences as best he could, in that sense.

"It's definitely an adjustment," the rookie said. "Honestly, I'm just trying to keep learning the system ... how I can help the team win. Figuring out how to get to my spots."

Gillespie showed off his natural ability to get downhill, read the floor on offense and position himself properly on defense in Friday's loss. He'll have an opportunity to continue developing those skills under the Spurs' existing backcourt of De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, and in Austin as a two-way player. He hopes for more of the former.

As Williamson watched Gillespie the sidelines, he had his "Big Team" glasses on.

“You want to see if they can grasp our principles defensively and offensively,” said Williamson, one of Mitch Johnson's assistant coaches. “That’s what Summer League is for. To get them acclimated to how you’re going to play during the regular season.”

He continued, citing unsurprising growing pains: "We expect there to be some rough patches ... but overall, I was pleased with the way they tried to compete."

July 3, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (17) shoots a free throw against the Miami Heat at the California Classic at Chase Center. | Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Spurs

While Spurs sophomore Carter Bryant has yet to make his Summer League debut — Williamson says the forward will play a game or two in Las Vegas — Gillespie has another teammate with NBA experience to lean on. Miles Kelly has now played for two Texas teams.

After 14 appearances with the Dallas Mavericks last season, Kelly is vying for a permanent home of his own. Joining the Summer Spurs has allowed him to flex his leadership.

"The game just slows down a lot more," Kelly explained. "You're used to the pace of the game and everything, and you're able to just pass it down to guys coming in."

Gillespie, sitting beside Kelly in the interview room, backed his young veteran teammate.

"(The game) is super fast," Gillespie said. "We're a little settled, but this is new for us ... I feel like they (the older players) just help us rookies calm down a little bit."

Turning 23 next March, Gillespie is on the younger end of Williamson's squad. He joins Maliq Brown, Tarris Reed Jr. and Jayden Quaintance on the short list of rookies with a spot already claimed, but he won't pretend to be satisfied with a 3-for-17 showing.

Like Reed, who also appeared to be shaking off rust — the center finished with 10 points and six rebounds on 3-for-10 shooting — Gillespie remains confident in his game. And he finds solace knowing he made some progress in his first professional contest.

"I honestly don't feel like the smallest on the court anymore," he said.

With two more contests in San Francisco and a five-game Las Vegas slate ahead of him, Gillespie plans to find the same player who averaged 18 points per game in college within himself. Helping the rest of his teammates get comfortable is another of his top priorities.

Kelly, who doesn't need help in that department, is more than happy to follow the lead of his teammate. And where he can help, he'll be more than happy to.

"Every team is kind of in the same situation," Kelly said. "It's about which team is going to come together and be connected the fastest. As long as we ... do that, we'll be all right."

Add us as a preferred source on Google