DevinVassell

Preseason question: Can he channel Playoff Vassell all season long? The Spurs’ seventh-year swingman dialed in his game in the exact areas the Spurs needed last postseason: He hit timely 3s, he canned clutch pull-ups when the offense hit sludge, and he leveraged his athleticism to make multiple game-swinging defensive highlights, including his block of Chet Holmgren down the stretch of Game 6 of the West finals. Vassell is the second-longest-tenured Spur (after Keldon Johnson), and his career has spanned eras. When San Antonio drafted him, he was projected as a 3-and-D role player. During the down years, Vassell expanded his offensive repertoire and became a near-20-points-per-game scorer, although his defense waned. And now that the Spurs are loaded with dynamic lead creators, Vassell is learning to plug the gaps around the star guards and Victor Wembanyama. However, it’s one thing to do that during a run to the NBA Finals, and another thing to do it during a random regular-season matchup in December. So long as Vassell is willing to let go of his star aspirations, he’ll remain a critical role player for one of the league’s very best teams.