Forward Rudy Gay is slated to make his debut in a San Antonio Spurs jersey on Friday, when they take on his former team, the Sacramento Kings — coach Gregg Popovich told ESPN's Michael C. Wright.
The perennial scorer will debut in front of the home fans, but the coaching staff will monitor his minutes on the floor as he bounces back from an Achilles injury that cut his season short earlier this year.
Gay has been wrestling with Popovich to make his debut and he might have just won out after the latter green-lighted him today, but Pop cautioned that as the ultimate “conservative” that he is, that he'll make sure Gay is at 100 percent before he lets go of the rope for the time being.




“It'll be fun,” Gay said after learning he will get the nod to play. “Kind of bitter-sweet that I get to play against Sacramento, but no matter who it was, I'd be excited.”
“I think it's a learning experience from all of us. Coach has been really good with helping me along the way and also my teammates. The pressure is all on me, I don't think they put it on me, it's just something that I'm doing myself.”
The 31-year-old spent his last three-and-a-half seasons with the Kings, playing only 30 games in 2016-17 prior to his injury — averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.