An Unlikely Candidate Led the San Antonio Bench Against Sacramento

The Spurs' bench +/- was led by a surprising lift from an unlikely candidate.

Nov 9, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots in between San Antonio Spurs forwards Julian Champagnie (30) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Sandro Mamukelashvili led the San Antonio Spurs bench in +/- on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings en route to a 116-96 win for San Antonio.

The former Seton Hall Pirate finished +7 on the night with nine points on 3-5 shooting from the field, all from long range. The next closest Spur bench player who logged more than one minute of play, Keldon Johnson, finished +2. The Georgian pulled down two rebounds in the victory as well.

Mamukelashvili played for the Spurs the previous two seasons and logged extensively more minutes last year (46 games played) that in his initial campaign (19 games played) with the team. Mamukelashvili could see another jump this season as the Spurs attempt to find a cohesive bench unit to hold its own in the occasional absence of Victor Wembanyama.

Before the season, Mamukelashvili said he was excited to return to San Antonio for the 2024-25 campaign. In an interview with KENS 5, the Georgian-born forward said that he grew up idolizing the style of basketball Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich coached.

"I tell everybody, and I mean it, growing up, if you were playing basketball in Europe, you would ask 'Oh, what type of style are we playing?' Spurs style," said Mamukelashvili. "It was always Popovich style, you know? Like, it was more like swing, swing, pass, cut, make a decision, don't hold the ball, no one on one. It's like more of what Pop preaches."

Mamukelashvili and the rest of the Spurs resume play on Wednesday when they take on the Washington Wizards in San Antonio. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.