By Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The San Antonio Spurs (16-7) visit the Los Angeles Lakers (17-6) in a quarterfinal matchup of the Emirates NBA Cup in-season tournament. The winner will go on to face the Phoenix Suns-Oklahoma City Thunder winner on Saturday night. This is the second of four meetings between the Spurs and Lakers. The Lakers held on for a 118-116 victory against the visiting Spurs in the first matchup on Nov. 5. Los Angeles has won five out of the last six against San Antonio.
Los Angeles is a 5-point favorite and the total is 237.5.
WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR PREVIOUS GAMES
San Antonio outlasted the fledgling New Orleans Pelicans (3-22) on Monday night. Rookie Dylan Harper’s driving floater with 9 seconds left gave the Spurs a 133-132 lead. De’Aaron Fox’s two free throws with 1.1 seconds left provided the final margin. San Antonio blew a 20-point halftime lead (77-57) before rallying for the win in the closing seconds.
Harrison Barnes scored a team-high 24 points (9-15 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 2-2 FT) over 35 minutes in the victory. Dylan Harper added 22 points (10-16 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six assists and three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle registered 18 points (5-15 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 7-8 FT), five rebounds and five assists across 23 minutes in his first game back from a left hip flexor strain. Castle last played on Nov. 16.
The Lakers picked up a 112-108 victory at Philadelphia on Sunday. With the game tied at 105 with 1:12 remaining, LeBron James knocked down a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 108-105 lead. After Philadelphia failed to score on the ensuing possession, LeBron hit a 20-footer that put the Lakers up 110-105 with 27.4 seconds remaining and iced the game for his team.
LeBron James finished with a season-high 29 points (12-17 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and a block in 34 minutes. Luka Doncic registered a triple double with 31 points (9-24 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 11-14 FT), 15 rebounds and 11 assists over 39 minutes. Deandre Ayton added 14 points (7-7 FG) and 12 rebounds across 31 minutes.
GAME STORYLINES: SAN ANTONIO
After finishing 22-60 during the 2022-23 season — the franchise’s worst record since 1988-89 — the San Antonio Spurs secured the No. 1 overall pick and selected highly-touted 7-foot-5 center Victor Wembanyama. The then-19-year-old French phenom was one of the most hyped draft prospects in NBA history. Wembanyama was expected to immediately lift the Spurs franchise into the stratosphere in a similar fashion to David Robinson (1987) and Tim Duncan (1997), who were also selected No. 1 overall by the Spurs.
Victor Wembanyama’s three seasons with San Antonio has been a mixed bag as he’s been extraordinary on the court, but also injury prone. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals across 71 games en route to being named the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year. Wembanyama was even better in year two (24.3 pts, 11.1 rebs, 3.8 blks, 3.7 asts) but deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder ended his season in February. He played in only 46 games.
During the offseason, Victor Wembanyama took part in intense training that included a 10-day retreat at the Shaolin Monastery in China to practice Kung Fu, along with strength and conditioning work to gain muscle mass. He also worked out with NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon to improve his footwork and post moves. Wembanyama was reportedly in the best shape of his life as the 2025-26 season tipped off.
Victor Wembanyama’s vigorous offseason training appeared to be highly beneficial initially as he began the year with a phenomenal opening night performance at Dallas on ESPN. The 21-year-old superstar amassed 40 points (15-21 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 9-11 FT), 15 rebounds and 3 blocks across 30 minutes as San Antonio routed Dallas 125-92. Wembanyama continued to reign havoc on the NBA averaging 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3.6 blocks, 1.1 steals and 1.7 threes on 50.7 percent shooting from the floor through 12 games for the 8-4 Spurs.
Unfortunately, Victor Wembanyama would succumb to an injury for a second straight year. This time it was a left calf strain that occurred at Golden State on Nov. 14. He has missed the last 11 games with the calf injury. Wembanyama practiced fully with the team last Sunday, and has traveled to Los Angeles with the Spurs for tonight’s game. The Spurs ruled him out for tonight’s game in Los Angeles but his return looks to be imminent.
San Antonio has gone 8-3 without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup — they were 8-4 with him. The return of star point guard De’Aaron Fox is a big reason why San Antonio remained formidable without their All-World big man. The 27-year-old Fox missed the first 8 games of the year due to a right hamstring strain. He’s averaging 24.3 points, 6.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.4 threes on 48.6 percent shooting from the floor and 37.9 percent shooting from long distance in 15 games.
San Antonio acquired De’Aaron Fox via a three-way trade from the Sacramento Kings in February 2024 after he became disenchanted with the direction of Sacramento’s franchise. Spurs management envisioned a lethal point guard-big man duo who could lead San Antonio back to NBA’s elite.
De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama have rarely played together over these two seasons due to injuries, but with Wembanyama on the verge of returning, they’ll finally have the opportunity to get acclimated with each other. Once that happens, San Antonio will likely entrench themselves amongst the elite teams in the NBA.
Veteran forward Harrison Barnes (13.4 pts, 3.4 asts, 1 stl, 2.4 threes, 49.3% from 2, 43.3% from 3 in 23 gms), shooting guard Devin Vassell (15.7 pts, 3.7 rebs, 1 stl, 2.3 threes, 39.8% from 3 in 23 gms) and super sixth man Keldon Johnson (13 pts, 6.5 rebs, 57.5% from 2 in 23 gms) have been unsung heroes for the Spurs this season. The trio has played in every game this season and increased their production in the absences of San Antonio’s star players (Wembanyama, Fox, Castle).
GAME STORYLINES: LOS ANGELES
After winning the 2019-20 COVID-interrupted NBA championship thanks to the All-World duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers spent the next four seasons coming up woefully short of obtaining another title. Injuries to James and Davis, along with poorly constructed rosters led to the Lakers demise in the postseason.
On February 2, 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers decided the LeBron James-Anthony Davis experience had run its course and they traded Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for superstar Luka Doncic. The move stunned the sports and non-sports world. Doncic had just led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and seemed like he would spend his entire career with the Mavs. The fact that Doncic is 6 years younger than the injury-prone Davis also had the masses questioning why Dallas would make the trade.
The pairing of LeBron James and Luka Doncic seemed as if it would catapult the Lakers into championship contenders. The Lakers did win their first four games with Doncic, and were 12-2 through 14 games with him which put them at 40-21 on March 6. They cooled off a bit afterwards and finished the season at 50-32, earning the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Despite the addition of Luka Doncic, the Lakers season ended in embarrassing fashion again as they lost 4-1 to the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs. Poor defense, poor rebounding and late fourth quarter burnouts were the culprits for the Lakers against the Timberwolves. Donic was unable to solve those issues.
During the offseason, the Lakers gave Luka Doncic a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension, which ended speculation that he may look to go elsewhere after the Lakers disappointing finish to the season. They also signed enigmatic center Deandre Ayton — the former No. 1 overall pick (2018) — to a two-year, $16.6 million deal. Ayton was brought in to fill the Lakers gaping void at center which was exploited by Minnesota in the playoffs last season. He’d been a career 16ppg/10.5rpg performer in his seven seasons prior to joining the Lakers.
The Lakers began the 2025-26 season without 40-year-old, future Hall of Famer LeBron James who missed the first 14 games with sciatica (nerve damage) on his right side. They went 10-4 without LeBron. He made his season debut on Nov. 18 against the Utah Jazz at home. LeBron is averaging 16.7 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds across 7 games. The Lakers are 6-1 when LeBron plays. This will be LeBron’s 23rd NBA season. He’s the first player in league history to reach that milestone.
Los Angeles is getting tremendous production from the dynamic duo of superstar Luka Doncic (35 pts, 9.2 rebs, 9.1 asts, 1.5 stls, 3.6 threes, 47.2% from 2 in 17 gms) and emerging superstar Austin Reaves (28.4 pts, 6.7 asts, 5.5 rebs, 1.1 stls, 2.9 threes, 50.9% from 2 in 20 gms). The stellar play of Doncic and Reaves ignited the Lakers hot start (10-4) to the season without LeBron James. It likely set the tone of how the season could go as LeBron returned and has seamlessly fit in with Doncic and Reaves through 7 games. The three did not seem to mesh together last season — especially in the playoffs — as all three appeared to be focused on just scoring.
THE PICK: LAKERS (-5)
The Lakers seem to elevate their level of play in the NBA Cup as they are 13-2 all-time since the in-season tournament began during the 2023-24 season. They won the inaugural NBA cup two years ago. Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama will miss his 12th straight game tonight. I don’t believe the slightly undermanned Spurs have the firepower to keep up with an intact Lakers squad. Lay the Points and take the Lakers tonight.