2. San Antonio Spurs
Notable up-and-coming players:
- Stephon Castle, 20
- Victor Wembanyama, 20
- Devin Vassell, 23
- Keldon Johnson, 24
The San Antonio Spurs' young core is fundamentally different from the Houston Rockets' young core. They are incredibly top-heavy, but they still get the nod over the Rockets because of "The Alien," Victor Wembanyama.
The most challenging thing to do when constructing a roster in the NBA is finding a superstar-level talent to build your team around. San Antonio has not only that but the best draft prospect since LeBron James back in 2003. Wemby is still only 20 years old, yet he has a legitimate chance of winning Defensive Player of the Year in his second NBA season.
It's much easier to surround a superstar with complementary role players than the other way around (which is what the Blazers are currently doing). Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle are a great start to building around Wemby. The Spurs are establishing an intimidating defensive identity with the backcourt of Vassell and Castle and 7-foot-4 Wemby anchoring the middle.
Castle, the No. 4 overall pick in this year's draft, will provide the Spurs with a much-needed playmaker who can take some of the pressure off of Wemby to generate looks entirely on his own. And what better veteran point guard to mentor him than Chris Paul?