Recent San Antonio Spurs Acquisition David Duke Jr., Sidy Cissoko Shine in G League Game

The San Antonio Spurs won on Friday and the Austin Spurs did not, but Sidy Cissoko and David Duke Jr. gave reason for fans to be excited about the state of the G League squad.

Jonah Kubicek | Dec 16, 2023

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San Antonio Spurs

On Friday night, the San Antonio Spurs dispatched LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a 129-115 win. While all the attention was rightfully on Devin Vassell’s career-high 36 points and the fact that the Spurs snapped an 18-game losing streak, there was a lights-out performance in Memphis that also bodes well for the Spurs’ future.

The Austin Spurs traveled to play the Memphis Hustle in an NBA G League matchup. Austin lost in overtime, 117-116, but the game showed promise for the young Spurs, both in San Antonio and Austin.

In his first game since being signed by the Spurs, David Duke Jr. scored a team-high 27 points in 30 minutes off the bench. He was 4-of-10 from deep and 7-for-12 inside the arc. The guard added four assists and three steals.

Other two-way players Charles Bediako and Sidy Cissoko also had solid games. Bediako added 12 points, while Cissoko continued to excel all around, posting 14 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists. He was 0-for-4 from deep, which isn’t promising, but on the season he has posted averages of 10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and shoots 32 percent from deep.

While the San Antonio Spurs are trending up after their recent win, the young guns in Austin are showing that the young core for the Spurs runs deep enough to create compelling storylines in the G League. Duke Jr. is only 24 years old and has averaged 4.2 points and 0.8 assists in 45 career NBA games. In his seven starts, he averaged 7.7 points in the NBA.

Spurs' Doug McDermott: Trade or Buyout Coming?

The Spurs are unlikely to name Duke Jr. their starting point guard, especially with Devin Vassell showing out last night, but on a team with minimal point guard depth, keeping Duke Jr. around makes sense in case Vassell or Tre Jones go down with an injury.

Published Dec 16, 2023

JONAH KUBICEK

Jonah Kubicek has been writing about the NBA since 2021, covering the Pistons, Jazz, Spurs, Magic, Rockets, and Knicks. As a lifelong Spurs fan living in Michigan, he never misses an opportunity to bring up the 2005 NBA Finals (you should have guarded Horry!). He is a long-suffering Tigers fan and closely follows the NFL, although he never found an affinity for the Lions. Jonah graduated from Oakland University with a degree in History and spends his spare time playing tennis or reading. Follow Jonah on Twitter for updates on Tre Jones and other NBA news.