NBA Picks 1/31 – Spurs @ Hornets

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The San Antonio Spurs (32-15) visit the Charlotte Hornets (21-28) in a matinee affair at Spectrum Center on Prime Video. This is the first of two meetings between the teams. They’ll square off again on Mar. 14 in San Antonio. Charlotte has dominated San Antonio of late winning eight of the last nine matchups. They’ve also won four straight at home against San Antonio. The Spurs’ last win in Charlotte took place on Feb. 14, 2021. 

San Antonio is a 4-point favorite and the total is 225.5

WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR PREVIOUS GAME

San Antonio rallied for a convincing 111-99 victory at Houston on Wednesday night. The Spurs overcame a 16-point (59-43) deficit late in the second quarter to win. After trailing 86-84 through three quarters, San Antonio began the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run. They took a 95-86 lead and cruised to a comfortable victory.

Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama was tremendous in the victory, finishing with 28 points (8-15 FG, 12-15 FT), 16 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals across 29 minutes. His 12 made free throws was a season-high. De’Aaron Fox added 18 points (6-11 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 4-4 FT) and eight assists in 34 minutes. Keldon Johnson (17 pts) and rookie Dylan Harper (16 pts) had big games off the bench for the Spurs.

Charlotte picked up a last-second 123-121 win at Dallas on Thursday night. Rookie Kon Knueppel made 2 free throws with 4.1 seconds left to give the Hornets the victory. The talented rookie scored a career-high 34 points (10-16 FG, 8-12 3Pt, 6-6 FT) across 36 minutes. Knueppel’s eight 3-pointers set a rookie franchise record for the Hornets. 

The game had added significance as Kon Knueppel (34 pts) and Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg (49 pts) became the first college teammates to each score at least 30 points in a game as rookies. Knueppel and Flagg were freshman roommates in college last season at Duke. 

Charlotte has won five games in a row, its longest winning streak since a five-game run in February 2023. 

GAME STORYLINES: SAN ANTONIO

During the 2022-23 season, every non-playoff team did everything they could to finish with the most losses so they could be in position to draft 7-foot-5 French phenom Victor Wembanyama — who was one of the most hyped draft prospects of all time. San Antonio finished the 2022-23 season with a 22-60 record, which was tied for the second-worst mark in the NBA behind the Detroit Pistons (17-65). San Antonio ended up winning the draft lottery in May 2023 and selected Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick a month later.

Victor Wembanyama’s first 2 NBA seasons were a mixed bag as he was magnificent when he played, but was somewhat injury-prone, while the Spurs produced underwhelming results as a team. Wembanyama was excellent as a rookie averaging 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’s individual brilliance did not translate into wins as the Spurs finished with an abysmal 22-60 record — the same record they had in 2022-23 when they were tanking for Wembanyama. 

In year two, Victor Wembanyama was even better averaging 24.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists but he was limited to just 46 games due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. His season ended in February 2025. The Spurs did improve their win total by 12 games — finishing 34-48 — and they added star point guard De’Aaron Fox at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Wembanyama’s season ended shortly after they acquired Fox, so the 2 barely played together. 

Everything has come together for San Antonio this season as Victor Wembanyama (24.3 ppg, 11.2 rebs, 2.8 asts, 2.7 blks, 1.8 threes, 50.6% from 2, 37% from 3 in 33 gms) and De’Aaron Fox (20.2 ppg, 6 asts, 4.1 rebs, 1.2 stls, 2,2 threes, 48% from 2 in 38 gms) are playing at a high level together resulting in the Spurs being one of the NBA’s top teams. San Antonio currently holds the third-best record in the NBA at 32-15. The Spurs are on pace to have their most wins since the 2016-17 campaign when they finished 61-21.

San Antonio has a tremendous supporting cast in reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (16.6 ppg, 7 asts, 5 rebs, 1.3 stls, 45.1% from 2 in 38 gms), shooting guard Devin Vassell (14.6 ppg, 3.9 rebs, 2.6 threes in 34 gms) and super sixth-man Keldon Johnson (13.6 ppg, 6 rebs, 55.4% from 2 in 34 gms). The Spurs have a total of 8 players averaging at least 10 points per game. That vast amount of depth has also been a factor in San Antonio’s turnaround this season. 

GAME STORYLINES: CHARLOTTE

Since the NBA awarded Charlotte a franchise for a second time beginning in the 2004-05 season — the original Charlotte Hornets played in Charlotte from 1988-2002 before moving to New Orleans and eventually becoming the Pelicans — the Bobcats, now Hornets have had a difficult time in its second iteration. In the 21 seasons (2005-2025), since the NBA returned to Charlotte, they’ve only advanced to the playoffs three times. Poor drafting was a big reason for Charlotte’s futility over the past two decades. 

Charlotte’s drafting has improved tremendously over the last few seasons, which has provided some optimism for the future. Lottery picks Miles Bridges (12th overall-2018), LaMelo Ball (3rd overall-2020), Brandon Miller (2nd overall-2023) and Kon Knueppel (4th overall-2025) quickly developed into stars. Management has also done a tremendous job bringing in complimentary pieces around its core of terrific former lottery picks. 

The aforementioned foursome of Brandon Miller (team-leading 20.6 ppg, 4.5 rebs, 3.4 asts, 1 stl, 3 threes in 32 gms), LaMelo Ball (19.1 ppg, 7.6 asts, 4.7 rebs, 1.2 stls, 3.4 threes in 39 gms), rookie phenom Kon Knueppel (18.9 ppg, 5.4 rebs, 3.6 asts, 3.4 threes, 48.6% from 2, 42.9% from 3 in 48 gms) and Miles Bridges (18.5 ppg, 6.2 rebs, 3.6 asts, 2.2 threes, 45% from 2 in 48 gms) have been outstanding for Charlotte this year in what looks to be a resurgent season.

The immediate impact of star rookie Kon Knueppel, along with relatively healthy campaigns from oft-injured point guard LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, are the main reasons for this season’s success up to this point. Knueppel is arguably the NBA’s top rookie — alongside former Duke teammate and Dallas Maverick Cooper Flagg. Ball played in just 47 games last year, while Miller played in only 22. In Ball’s previous three seasons, he never played in more than 47 games due to chronic ankle injuries. 

“Microwave” scorer Collin Sexton (14.3 ppg in 22.7 mpg), along with the twin tower combo of centers Mousa Diabate (8.4 ppg, 8.4 rebs, 1 blk in 45 gms) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (8.6 ppg, 6.1 rebs, 1.5 blks in 37 gms) are three valuable complimentary pieces in Charlotte’s lineup. The fourth-year, Michigan product Diabate is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds and blocks. 

Charlotte’s 21 wins this season is 2 more than they had all of last season when they finished 19-63. After getting off to a 4-14 start and finding themselves at 11-23 on Jan. 2, the Charlotte Hornets turned the corner when the calendar turned to 2026. They’ve gone 10-5 since the 1st of the year, six of those wins have been by at least 16 points. 

Some of Charlotte’s most impressive wins during their current 15-game stretch include an impressive 124-97 blowout win at the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 5, a 130-93 pummeling of the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Jan. 26 and a 150-95 rout at Utah on Jan. 10. The 55-point win was the largest road win in franchise history. 

THE PICK: SPURS (-4)

I like how Charlotte is playing of late but I think they are going to be outclassed here by one of the NBA’s elites in San Antonio. Lay the Points and take the Spurs this afternoon!