The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a noteworthy 2025-26 season. Although their playoff run ended with a 4-1 loss in the NBA Finals, given how young the Spurs’ core is, and with a player like Victor Wembanyama leading it, it is safe to say that San Antonio will be a threat for years to come.
Entering the offseason, it was evident that San Antonio needed to make some minor adjustments. While the addition of a player like Tobias Harris was noteworthy, this year’s draft picks, Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr., may have arguably been more meaningful.
With two strongly built big men joining the team, the Spurs have effectively acquired the necessary bruisers to pair with Victor Wembanyama. However, San Antonio appears to have been struck by misfortune early in the summer, as ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel provided an injury update on Jayden Quaintance.
“The Spurs say rookie center Jayden Quaintance underwent successful right knee surgery today. There is no timetable for his eventual return to basketball activities,” Siegel mentioned. “Jayden Quaintance will miss the start of the 2026-27 NBA season, and the early expectation from the Spurs is that he won’t be ready to return until some point in 2027, sources told. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact return timeline, but he is sidelined indefinitely.”
Jayden Quaintance, who was drafted 20th overall, was positioned to be a solid addition to the big man rotation. At 6’9″, 253 lbs, the sophomore big man out of Kentucky possesses tremendous shot-blocking and rebounding abilities. While his skill set is promising, his injury situation is equally concerning.
It is worth noting that injuries limited Quaintance’s availability to just four games last season. While it is safe to presume that his recent procedure may have been to address the torn ACL and meniscus injury he suffered in February 2025, it doesn’t bode well for the Spurs in the immediate context.
So how does San Antonio bounce back from this?
For the most part, they may not need to.
Given how impactful Victor Wembanyama is, even in limited minutes during the regular season, the Spurs enjoy the luxury of going deep into their big man rotation to support their superstar. Hence, even with Jayden Quaintance sidelined, San Antonio is likely to see players like Luke Kornet play more minutes off the bench.
Aside from Kornet, however, the Spurs can also choose to give Tarris Reed Jr. more playing time in the regular season.
The 26th overall pick asserted himself as a dominant interior presence during his stint with UConn last season. While his skill set is largely similar to Quaintance’s, his physical tools (6’10”, 260 lbs) portray him as a more game-ready prospect than his contemporary.
Last season, Reed averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game with the Huskies. Given how impactful he could be on defense when paired with the reigning DPOY, the Spurs boast the potential to be one of the best defensive teams in the league.
