How Spurs roster age compares to NCAA champions, youngest teams to win NBA title

The San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference Finals despite picking in the top three in each of last three NBA Drafts. The Spurs have parlayed those picks into a strong young core, which has a chance to win the NBA title so quick in their rebuild.

Led by Victory Wembanyama, the Spurs roster had a mix of young talent and veteran players, but the youth has taken over in the postseason.  Due to injuries and coaching decisions, the Spurs starting lineup has gotten younger and younger this year, but hasn't lost a step as they fight against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The latest lineup decision came when Dylan Harper replaced De'Aaron Fox in the starting lineup, as Fox deals with an injury. The eight-year age difference dropped the Spurs' average age down to a shockingly low number for a team this deep in the playoffs.

Here's a look at the Spurs young roster and how it compares to some college teams of the past few years.

NBA PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NBA scores | NBA playoff schedule | NBA playoff bracket

Spurs roster age

The Spurs team is full of young stars, as the oldest players on the team are mainly depth options. San Antonio's Game 2 starting lineup of Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama, Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell featured five players aged 25-or-younger.

Harper, Castle and Wembanyama are expected to anchor the team moving forward, even though the young stars are just 20, 21 and 22, respectively. Of the nine players who've averaged the most minutes per game for the Spurs in the playoffs, eight are 28-or-younger and seven are 26-or-younger.

MORE: Breaking down the worst calls and non-calls from Game 2

Spurs starting five

The Spurs had six different players start at least 50 games this year, with Harrison Barnes being the last on the list. At some point in the season, though, the Spurs relegated Barnes to the bench and went with a youth movement instead with an average age of 24:

• G Stephon Castle, 21
• F Victor Wembanyama, 22
• F Julian Champagnie, 24
• G Devin Vassell, 25
• G De'Aaron Fox, 28

For the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, Fox was out with a lingering hamstring injury that put Dylan Harper in the starting lineup. Harper, 20, brought the average age of the unit down a significant margin to 22.4, making Vassell the oldest player in the lineup at 25.

MORE: Why Victor Wembanyama trained with monks in the offseason

How Spurs age compares to NCAA teams

2024-25 Florida Gators

• F Alex Condon, 20
• F Rueben Chinyelu, 21
• G Walter Clayton Jr., 22
• G Will Richard, 22
• G Alijah Martin, 23

The 2025 National Champion Florida Gators used a starting lineup with an average age of 21.6 when the team defeated Houston to win it all. The lineup had a pretty consistent age across the board, as Alijah Martin was the oldest player on the team at 23.

2025-26 Michigan Wolverines

• F Morez Johnson Jr., 20
• C Aday Mara, 20
• G Elliot Cadeau, 21
• F Yaxel Lendeborg, 23
• G Nimari Burnett, 24

During the 2026 National Championship, Michigan's starting lineup also had an average age of 21.6, which was slightly younger than the Spurs' lineup with Harper. The Wolverines had two older players in Lendeborg and Burnett, but also featured three players at either 20 or 21 years old.

2026-27 LSU Tigers (Projected)

• F Saliou Niang, 22
• G RJ Luis, 23
• F Brice Dessert, 23
• F Marcio Santos, 23
• G Yam Madar, 25

In recent weeks, new LSU head coach Will Wade has attempted to fill out a roster full of experienced players. Therefore, this projected starting lineup has an average age of 23.2, higher than that of the Spurs WCF Game 2 starting lineup.

The average age of LSU
MBB’s projected starters is older than the San Antonio Spurs. pic.twitter.com/mL0TD7TKdb

It's unclear, though, if either Luis or Madar will ever suit up for the Tigers. Luis spent last year in the G League after he went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, while Madar was a 2020 NBA Draft pick who never played in the NBA, instead bouncing around Europe since. The NCAA may deem that both players are ineligible to play in college moving forward.

Youngest teams to win NBA championship

The 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers own the record for the youngest team to win an NBA championship, doing so with an average age of 25.03, while the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder ended up second on that list. San Antonio's average age entering this season was 25.20.