Losses typically mean a lot of bad things are happening to the team. This might not be the case for Coach Mitch Johnson, Victor Wembanyama, and the San Antonio Spurs. Yes, they got beat by the Atlanta Hawks in their NBA Preseason opener, 123-116, but a lot of great work from the offseason seems to have started bearing fruit. From Dylan Harper's rise to their interior scoring , we'll break them down here.
1. Spurs fans will see Dylan Harper turn into a star
Dylan Harper was already a great contributor during his rookie year with the Spurs. Alongside Victor Wembanyama and other great guards, he clawed his way to a starter role for four regular-season games and two NBA playoff games. He then popped off the bench during their NBA Finals run. Due to all of that, the expectation is that Coach Mitch Johnson is deciding whether to start him.
Spurs fans got a taste of Harper during their NBA Preseason opener against the Hawks. Coach Johnson entrusted him to play 19 minutes, and his style of play has drastically improved. The second-year player struggled to knock down perimeter shots. It was made obvious by his 34.3% three-point percentage, which is below the league average of 36%. It even showed in his shot diet: he seemed scared to shoot from outside. His attempts from deep were only 27.1%, despite Wembanyama's interior gravity freeing him from some perimeter actions.
By the end of this NBA Preseason bout with the Hawks, it was clear Harper is no longer afraid to knock down shots from way out. He went 60% from three-point range and 71.4% from the field to score 16 points. This new shot diet led the Spurs to grab 13 offensive rebounds, which is already way more than their previous season average of 11.4 ORB and 26.2% ORB%. See, stardom does not just mean that someone has insulated numbers that go high on the stat sheet; it's actively manipulating the defense of opponents.
Dylan Harper in the first half 16 PTS (18 mins) 3 REB 4 AST 1 STL 3/5 3PT 5/7 FG https://t.co/5tGrOdYMW2
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) October 9, 2026Beyond that, Harper also filled the stat sheet. He grabbed four rebounds, delivered four assists, and even stole the ball. When these preseason numbers are scaled and assuming that Coach Johnson would give him the same 26.7 minutes but with more touches, his averages will go up to 22.5 points, 5.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. All of which could be enough to make him a fringe NBA All-Star.
More: Dylan Harper reveals the main flaw he worked on to help Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
2. Victor Wembanyama is going to clean up the boards en route to Spurs championship
One might think that the Spurs are already a gritty team under the glass. For the most part, that is true. Victor Wembanyama was instrumental in leading the Spurs to a league-high average of 77.3% DRB%. But that is not the full rebounding picture. See, the Spurs were a measly 11th in ORB% because they only got to 26.2% during their last regular season campaign. All of this seems to be turning around, and Wembanyama is the main reason why.
In their NBA Preseason opener against the Hawks, Wembanyama grabbed six rebounds in just nine minutes. Of that total, the Spurs center grabbed only one offensive rebound, but, believe it or not, that is an improvement. Scaled to the Spurs star's usual 29.2 minutes per game, he is projected to have 3.24 offensive rebounds. A massive improvement from his 2025-26 average of 2.0 offensive rebounds.
This also means the Spurs will climb the offensive rebounding rankings as the season goes on. If they consistently produce 13 offensive rebounds per game, the Spurs could land in the league's top three in offensive rebounding.
For context, the Detroit Pistons were third in the NBA in offensive rebounding during the 2025-26 season with their 13.1 ORB average. The Spurs, led by Wembanyama, can beat them in that category with this significant improvement.
Importantly, if this offensive rebounding change lasts, the Spurs will get more fresh shot clocks off misses and easy points from putbacks. This is very crucial in both high- and low-pace games, especially for a title-contending team.
More: Spurs' Dylan Harper taunts NBA foes with scary Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox claim
3. Coach Mitch Johnson's perimeter directives will open up better scoring nights for the Spurs
Ideally, a team built around Victor Wembanyama typically needs a less cluttered interior to help him operate. Shooters have been surrounded by great big men like Dikembe Mutombo, Shaquille O'Neal, Nikola Jokic, and Hakeem Olajuwon. The Spurs, believe it or not, have the roster to run similar schemes to help their big man, but their shot diet prevents them from doing so.
See, the Spurs were only 14th in the NBA with 37.9 three-point attempts per game and 15th with a 35.9% three-point percentage.
There doesn't seem to be a shift in how many shots they take from the perimeter. The Spurs still took 37 three-point attempts against the Hawks in their NBA Preseason loss. But their efficiency had an uptick. The Spurs hit 37.8% from beyond the arc.
If the Spurs maintain this percentage and it scales to last season's rankings, it would propel them into a top-three perimeter-shooting team in the NBA. They would beat out the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks, who ranked third and fourth with 37.6% from the three.
The directive is very clear. Everyone on the Spurs needed to improve their three-point shooting to give Wembanyama more space to operate on rolls and in the post. It also significantly impacts their offensive rebounding.
WEMBY EWWWWWWWW https://t.co/9pfmGGRo9d
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) October 9, 2026The question remains whether the Spurs can operate at this same rate for the regular season. But if they do, Coach Johnson and Wembanyama seem to have solved all the problems that led to last season's NBA Finals heartbreak.
It was a loss to the Hawks, yes, but a lot of optimistic things happened that Spurs fans should be happy about.
