Hector Ledesma Articles - Page 18

With former San Antonio Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray back in San Antonio, ClutchPoints spoke exclusively with the 27-year-old Atlanta Hawks guard. Murray hasn’t held back in describing his time with the franchise that drafted him in 2016. While he has praised the organization, he has also been brutally honest at times about his stint with […]

A peek up at the rafters of the San Antonio Spurs home arena reveals a couple of noticeable absences. Gone are the jerseys of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The reason, though widely assumed considering both recently entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was officially given on Wednesday. The Spurs are holding a […]

For the first time in nearly 45 years, the San Antonio Spurs will face the Chicago Bulls more than twice in the same season. The scheduling anomaly comes as a result of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. After four games of pool play, the Spurs and Bulls are among the 24 teams that failed to […]

And the San Antonio Spurs most pleasant surprise so far in the 2023-24 campaign is…. Actually, there’s no need for a drum roll. Despite all the hype and fanfare, yes, Victor Wembanyama is the Spurs most pleasant surprise this season. After all, a surprise can be defined as ‘an astonishing event’, and well, Wembanyama’s play […]

It’s morphed from a debate into a fight. Maybe not the physical type, but with tons of passion. Whether Jeremy Sochan or Tre Jones should start at point guard has become that intense among San Antonio Spurs fans. It should be noted that Jones plays 24 minutes a game. That’s four and a half less […]

Following the San Antonio Spurs most recent game, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic didn’t hold back on his effusive praise for Victor Wembanyama. “He’s going to change the game, 100 percent. He’s already on that path, so just enjoy and watch the show and let the guy change the game,” Jokic shared That came from […]

For the better part of a three week stretch near the start of the season, most San Antonio Spurs games fell into one of two categories. Either, they lost big or they lost a big lead. Their last three contests have taken a slightly different route. The Silver and Black lost all three, but against […]

San Antonio Spurs big man Zach Collins doesn’t need a reminder that he’s made just one of his last 11 attempts from 3-point territory. He might know, specifically, that he’s shooting 27 percent from beyond the arc this season. And he probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he’s taken more 3-pointers than two of […]

The San Antonio Spurs lost to the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 132-120 on Sunday, but there were still some interesting Victor Wembanyama takeaways from the Frenchman’s first matchup with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. As fascinating as it is to watch rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama now, what’s often heard are comments along the lines of, […]

The San Antonio Spurs know a thing or two about outrageously good stat lines. Of the four players in NBA history who’ve recorded quadruple-doubles, two of them played for the Silver and Black. Victor Wembanyama hasn’t joined that selective class, but outings like the team’s most recent game against the Denver Nuggets suggest he may […]

San Antonio Spurs starting point guard Jeremy Sochan did not play in the second half of the 132-120 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night. The team said last year’s ninth overall pick of the NBA Draft was held out because of left knee soreness. Following the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich stated […]

San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson presented him into the Naismith Hall of Fame this summer. Had a fifth chair been set next to the podium during Gregg Popovich’s enshrinement speech, it’s not a bad assumption that it wouldn’t have been reserved for Kawhi Leonard. But Pop’s legacy […]

For a second straight game, Victor Wembanyama – not Wembanyana – and the San Antonio Spurs stayed close but couldn’t get over the hump against a Western Conference team expected to contend. A 118-112 loss at the Golden State Warriors is the Spurs 11th straight loss, though Wemby was again solid. Wembanyama scored 22 points, […]

He’s certainly not the San Antonio Spurs most high profile figure. He’s not their leading scorer, nor is he their best defensive player. In fact, even though he’s just 23 years old, no one expects him to be the team’s go-to guy in the future. But, right now, and perhaps, for this entire season, Devin […]

A day that started with one of the San Antonio Spurs’ best players telling the media that the team held a players-only meeting ended with head coach Gregg Popovich taking the public address announcer’s microphone during that night’s game vs. the Los Angles Clippers to chastise fans for booing former Spurs star Kawhi Leonard. The […]

In a stunning move, San Antonio Spurs Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich grabbed the public address announcer’s microphone during the second quarter of Wednesday night’s game versus the Los Angeles Clippers at the Frost Bank Center. With former Spurs star Kawhi Leonard at the free throw line and fans booing as they consistently have […]

It’s been five years since, perhaps, the single worst trade in San Antonio Spurs history. Mind you, the organization once parted ways with local icon and Hall of Famer George Gervin. And over the years San Antonio has been on the wrong end of some lopsided deals. But sending Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors […]

There’s every reason to believe that San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson isn’t paying lip service when he describes his new role. “I roll with the punches and I adapt.” That sounds like a phrase an athlete trying to find his niche would say. “I feel like whatever is needed, that’s what I do.” Similarly, […]

Following a rookie year that provided one of the few bright spots during the 2022-23 San Antonio Spurs season, Malaki Branham, who closed with more than 20 points in three of those final seven games, figures to be a key piece for the Silver and Black going forward. ClutchPoints went one-on-one with the 20th overall […]

Only three times through the first 14 games of his promising San Antonio Spurs career has Victor Wembanyama failed to score at least 12 points, and two of those outings have come against the Los Angeles Clippers. Only once this season has Wemby recorded less than five rebounds. It just happened against the Clips. Ten […]

They’re forever linked. Partners for runs to the NBA Finals, including a team performance in 2014 that registers in the annals of basketball lore…to recent losing streaks at the start of seasons that come with tons of excitement. It’s impossible to tell Kawhi Leonard’s story without the San Antonio Spurs. And it’s quite possible that […]

In a season that has already seen a share of bad losses, the San Antonio Spurs just suffered what may have been their worst of the young 2023-24 campaign. Already without star Ja Morant, who is serving a 25-game NBA suspension for flashing a gun on social media during the offseason, the Memphis Grizzlies were […]

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs found themselves on the wrong end of a 129-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings Friday night. It continues several trends for the Silver and Black. Their seventh straight setback also signified their third straight defeat in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. They’re now 0-2 when playing in their  […]

“He takes the worst shots ever.” Those are Hall-of- Famer Charles Barkley’s words describing San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell. They came during Tuesday night’s broadcast of the Silver and Black’s blowout to Oklahoma City in a game that doubled as an NBA In-Season Tournament contest for both. Excluding a game at New York in […]

The San Antonio Spurs resume the NBA In-Season Tournament on Friday. Winless in two tournament games so far, they face the Sacramento Kings, the only team in Group C that’s played just one game in the inaugural competition. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the lone team in the group that’s played three tourney games. The Minnesota […]

Perhaps most telling about Victor Wembanyama’s first three weeks in the NBA is that the games that don’t qualify as good, don’t do so because they weren’t great. He scored 18 in a 115-114 October 31 win at Phoenix, put up 20 but didn’t get the ball down the stretch in an overtime loss to […]

“F**k this s**t.” It is safe to assume the phrase had never before been uttered on the record by any member of the San Antonio Spurs. It wasn’t said in frustration following Tuesday night’s 36 point loss in Oklahoma City. The expletive sandwich came over the weekend after practice when Jeremy Sochan responded to questions […]

Well, Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren should turn into a rivalry that we’ll enjoy for the next decade or so. That’s all we have to look forward to right now. The first official NBA meeting between Wembanyama and Holmgren fell well short of their collective shadows. The San Antonio Spurs flopped again, 123-87 in Oklahoma […]

Victor Wembanyama has been here before. Though he’s set to match up in the NBA with Chet Holmgren for the first time officially in a game Tuesday that’ll also serve as an In-Season Tournament contest, going against the player who comes closest to matching his seven-foot-plus versatility is not foreign to Wemby. 2021 U19 World […]

Which is worse? That the San Antonio Spurs have lost games by 40, 41, and 21 points this season? Or that they’ve blown leads of 27, 22, and 19? Considering they actually won the November 2 game at the Phoenix Suns that saw them squander a 55-28 second-quarter advantage, and considering the difference of these […]

Add it to the reasons Victor Wembanyama is so intriguing. The 7’4 phenom’s performance in the San Antonio Spurs 118-113 loss to the Miami Heat doesn’t register as one of his best performances to start his NBA career. The top overall pick in June’s NBA Draft shot 8-for-22, including struggling on 2-for-9 from three-point land […]

San Antonio Spurs point guard Jeremy Sochan is chiming in on the chatter about his transition to a new role. The second-year player posted on X (followed by the emoji that signifies laughter with tears) late Saturday night, responding to a post from a Spurs fan’s comment that Sochan doesn’t believe he can play the […]

He picked up right where he left off. For Victor Wembanyama’s sake, it’s a good thing we’re not talking about him. While Wemby was coming off perhaps the worst outing of his young NBA career, Devin Vassell teamed with this past June’s top overall pick to lead the San Antonio Spurs in their hard-fought 117-110 […]

The San Antonio Spurs are set for their first NBA In-Season Tournament game. It should prove a tough match-up for Victor Wembanyama and company considering they’ve lost their last three. The Minnesota Timberwolves head into the Frost Bank Center Friday on a four-game win streak that’s included victories over the defending champion Denver Nuggets and […]

It’s going to take time. The fact that not much of the schedule has passed since the San Antonio Spurs last endured such lopsided consecutive losses proves as much. Last March, in the 71st game of the 2022-23 season, Gregg Popovich’s team lost to the New Orleans Pelicans by 35 points. The very next night, […]

Much of the intrigue around Victor Wembanyama centers on what he could be. The tantalizing skill set considering his height is just the starting point. He’s 19 years old and so the imagination will do what imaginations usually do. This much we know now though. When the time comes and Wemby looks back at his […]

What are the odds? Or maybe this is the way it’s supposed to be. 39 years ago to the date that Michael Jordan dazzled in his Madison Square Garden debut, Victor Wembanyama plays his first-ever game at the “Mecca of Basketball.” But, fair or not, it’s another one of the game’s greatest players with whom […]

“It’s just basketball.” One of the most nuanced men in the NBA, probably all of sports, isn’t so complex when it comes to the game in which he’s made his legend. The military veteran who considered a career in the CIA and frequently publicly expresses critical thoughts on societal and political matters, often dismisses the […]

A little more than 24 hours and five quarters earlier, the San Antonio Spurs enjoyed a double-digit lead and were looking to close out their third straight victory.  Even more impressive when you consider the Spurs picked up two wins against the daunted Phoenix Suns. The nearly 1,200 miles between San Antonio and Indianapolis represented […]