The San Antonio Spurs have put together one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent NBA history, but not everyone is convinced. Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young voiced his opinion on a recent episode of the “Gil’s Arena” podcast, delivering a blunt assessment of San Antonio’s playoff prospects.
Nick Young Dismisses the San Antonio Spurs’ Playoff Chances
Young did not hold back when comparing the Spurs to last season’s Houston Rockets. The Rockets finished with 52 wins and the second seed before being eliminated in the first round by the Golden State Warriors.
“They’re the Houston Rockets of last year… young, same thing, Houston Rockets,” Young said. “They young, stupid, and gonna get they a** whipped.”
Regardless of how impressed fans and analysts are with the Spurs’ skill, particularly Victor Wembanyama’s, Young remains skeptical.
“You act like Victor is averaging 30, but he averaging 24 points,” he said. “They are not tested, not playoff tested. The only team they’re gonna beat is Phoenix. Everybody else, they gonna get they a** whooped.”
Nick Young says the Spurs are the Houston Rockets of last year:
“They are number 2, young they are the same thing as Houston last year. They young and stupid, they going to get their a** whipped. Acting like Victor Wembanyama is averaging 30, he average 24 points. They are not… pic.twitter.com/2tlOHxzg9E
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 26, 2026
The comparison carries some statistical weight. The 2024-25 Rockets were among the youngest teams in the league and were undone by their lack of experience against a veteran Warriors squad.
The current Spurs roster shows similar traits. They have eight players averaging double-digit scoring, reflecting the balance Houston displayed last season.
Of San Antonio’s main rotation, only Harrison Barnes, De’Aaron Fox, Kelly Olynyk, Luke Kornet, and Bismack Biyombo have playoff experience, with Fox having appeared in just one postseason series across his first eight seasons.
As Rashad McCants noted on the same podcast, the Spurs have something the 2025 Rockets did not: a player no playoff team has ever had to prepare for in Wembanyama.
Kendrick Perkins earlier praised Wembanyama: “If Wemby is who we think he is, that man could go get it done. We have never seen anything like this as far as this guy and his talent, what he’s doing on the floor. But his leadership, I like his leadership, his want to win, his spirit, it is contagious.”
Wembanyama is averaging 24.3 points on 50.4% shooting, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and a league-leading 3.0 blocks per game. He anchors a Spurs team that sits second in the Western Conference at 55-18, including a 23-2 record since February.
San Antonio ranks third in defensive rating, fourth in offensive rating, and holds the second-best record in clutch games. They have also gone 4-1 against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder this season.
Wembanyama has embraced the spotlight, publicly campaigning for MVP and suggesting that inexperience could work to the Spurs’ advantage. “We got one disadvantage. It’s that we don’t have experience,” he said. “But that could be an advantage too, because if we don’t know if it’s impossible, then we might still do it.”
Whether that confidence proves prophetic or premature, the Spurs enter the postseason as the league’s most intriguing unknown.
