San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Ingram has spent most of this season honing his skill set behind the scenes. The 2024 second-round pick's quiet development has been a source of satisfaction within the Spurs organization.
Ingram was named G League Player Of The Week after averaging 22.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists over his last five appearances with the Austin Spurs. He recorded four double-doubles and one triple-double as Austin posted a 4-1 record.
“Player of the week is definitely trending in the right direction,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of Ingram's development. “I think it’s always part happy for him, part rewarding as an organization and a staff, and part just fun when you have a young player in your program for a year and they're grinding, especially when you’re in the G League and it can be a little out of sight, out of mind to the outside world. You’re selling them on getting better incrementally and sticking with the process.
“That can be hard for young people when, at times, they may not get the attention or the direct feedback that they’re looking for or used to, especially because a lot of those guys come from being really good college players. So for him to stay with it the way that he has and to have the improvement and growth that he has and to get recognized in a very deserved way is great for him.”
Ingram, the No. 48 pick in the 2024 draft out of North Carolina, has spent most of this season in the G League, appearing in only five NBA games.
Harrison Ingram showing improvement in G League after signing two-way contract
The 6-foot-5 forward's two-way development with Austin has been encouraging for San Antonio. Ingram has averaged 16.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 48.2 percent shooting across 21 G League appearances.
“He’s really accepted and embraced his role,” Johnson said. “That can be hard to do in terms of your role as a defender, a physical role player, playing off the ball some. But trying to always continue to extend or create more possessions with offensive rebounds, knock down open shots, get out and run in transition, and obviously we want him to be a premier defender and be able to rebound. I think that’s just something that he’s really embraced and you’ve seen that. And sometimes when you do that, you get monster production with it. You can tell he’s put his energy into the right spots.”
The Spurs signed Ingram to a one-year, two-way contract before this season.
