Spurs Officially Eliminated From Playoffs; Victor Wembanyama Soon?

The NBA Draft Lottery officially welcomed the San Antonio Spurs last night. Will the Spurs win the lottery and draft Victor Wembanyama?

Jeremy Brener | Mar 10, 2023

Spurs Officially Eliminated From Playoffs; Victor Wembanyama Soon? /

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San Antonio Spurs

For just the second time in 26 years, the San Antonio Spurs will not be playing bonus basketball.

After the events from Thursday night's play, the Spurs are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

As of now, the Spurs sit with a 16-49 record and are 15.5 games back of the New Orleans Pelicans for the 10th and final spot in the play-in tournament with just 17 games to play.

Their .246 winning percentage is on pace to be the second-worst in franchise history, only behind the 1996-97 mark at .244. The previous year, the Spurs won 59 games and made it to the Western Conference Semifinals. However, a major injury to David Robinson sent the Spurs into a spiral and the team coughed up its worst season in franchise history.

However, the ping-pong balls were kind to the Spurs, netting them No. 1 overall pick Tim Duncan, who became the greatest player in franchise history, leading San Antonio to five championships in his career.

The Spurs are hoping for a similar outcome in this year's draft. Should the Spurs maintain one of the poorest records in the NBA, they will have the strongest odds to grab the No. 1 pick to select French star Victor Wembanyama.

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Published Mar 10, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.