A fans perspective 

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Be scared, be very scared

The headline is a warning for opponents of the Spurs this upcoming season. The alien is the nickname LeBron James hung on Spurs center Victor Wembanyama because his play gave the impression he was from another planet. He was on the road to exceed his rookie numbers when BAM he went out with an injury. In February 2025 deep vein thrombosis a (blood clot) in his right shoulder ended an outstanding sophomore season. Over the summer after receiving medical clearance Wemby began to work out and the results are certainly interesting.

There’s been debate on his height since he arrived in the NBA, last season the Spurs roster listed him at 7-feet 3 inches and 213 pounds. He is now measured at 7-feet 4 and 236 pounds, with that opponents have been issued a warning. They need to be very, very scared especially with the weight increase, draft night Wemby was listed between 209-210 pounds. He now ties the Grizzlies Zach Edey as the tallest player in the NBA at 7-feet 4. One additional note I came across, someone asked the question “How tall was he at 10-years of age?” As a 10 year old Wemby stood 5-feet 10 inches, he might have been as tall or even taller than his schoolteacher.

Eyewear

Anthony Davis has announced that he will wear protective eyewear for the remainder of his career following an eye injury. While this adjustment represents a change for Davis personally, it is by no means an uncommon practice in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was among the earliest and most notable players to adopt the routine use of goggles, beginning after he suffered a scratched cornea during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks. Over time, Abdul-Jabbar experimented with various types of eyewear before selecting the pair now iconic in historical footage and photographs.

Other prominent players have also utilized protective eyewear for different reasons. For example, James Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar's teammate, regularly wore goggles, as did Horace Grant, whose prescription lenses addressed nearsightedness and improved his on-court vision. There were additional athletes such as Bo Outlaw, Buck Williams, Thurl Bailey, and Antoine Carr are also remembered for donning protective goggles during their NBA careers. In summary, Anthony Davis’s decision to adopt protective eyewear aligns with the precedent set by numerous NBA players throughout the league's history. This is the dilemma faced sometimes by taller players such as AD.

Tony Gwynn played basketball

It certainly is not uncommon for athletes to play multiple sports, the late Tony Gwynn is one. Most of us are familiar with his illustrious baseball career (1982-2001) all 20 years spent as a member of the San Diego Padres. I was aware he’d played basketball along with baseball at San Diego State prior to his major league baseball career. This is the portion new to me, he played baseball three years but basketball all four years while enrolled at San Diego State. This you might find interesting, Gwynn received scholarship offers to play basketball but none for baseball.

After all these years he still holds the single game record for assists (18), season (221) and career (590). Gwynn was named to the All-WAC second team twice, his senior year he averaged 8.8 assists a game. This was the portion pointed out to me by a friend and it details how outstanding a hitter he became once he reached the major leagues. In a 20 year baseball career he struck out fewer times (434) than his assist total at San Diego State. Now the question, could Gwynn have played in the NBA, that subject will remain forever unanswered? The statement can be made in truth, he was a prolific hitter in baseball over a long career. In addition to that fact Gwynn was an outstanding collegiate player as a point guard and perhaps in the NBA.   

For the first time

The NBA season begins officially October 21, 2025, this will be the 79th year of NBA play. This season will be unlike others because of one reason, for the first time since the 1996-97 season Gregg Popovich will not be prowling the sidelines for the Spurs. The longest tenured coach in NBA history suffered a stroke November 2, 2024. It was believed at the time coach Pop would be able to return to coach the team through the balance of the season. Finally in February it was made known Pop would be sidelined for the balance of the 2024-25 season.

May 2, 2025, the Spurs announced Pop would step down as head coach, Mitch Johnson who became interim head coach would now take over the team with the interim tag removed. Pop is not riding off into the sunset, he’s taken on the role of Spurs president. After 29 years serving as head man he will no longer run the Spurs program on the court, that is now Johnson’s responsibility. I for one will miss Gregg Popovich whenever I tune into a Spurs game. Beneath that rough gruff exterior beat a heart of gold, just like Phil Jackson. I’ve yet to read a negative comment by anyone who played for Jackson or Pop. Just one other note, do you realize he was a “losing” coach? At Pomona-Pitzer (Division III) Pop won 76 games while losing 129.