De’Aaron Fox didn’t waste any time noticing it. During the Spurs’ offseason open gym scrimmages, the two-time All-Star guard saw big men blocking out with a new kind of ferocity. Guards and wings were defending like straight-up brick walls at the point of attack, battling for every single loose ball all over the court. Fox immediately clocked it: this ramped-up physical play wasn’t some fluke. It was the positive, undeniable carryover from the Spurs’ wild, surprising run to the 2026 NBA Finals.
From Soft to Savage: The Gauntlet That Forged This Squad
Fox said it himself, they “played four of the most physical teams you’ll play in the league.” Think about that for a second. Portland, Minnesota, Oklahoma City , those aren’t exactly picnic teams. Then they ran smack into a hard-nosed New York Knicks squad in the Finals, with absolute warriors like Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart just relentlessly coming at them. The image of Dylan Harper knocking the ball clean out of Brunson’s hands in Game 5 of the Finals? That’s the vibe. This wasn’t just a playoff run, it was a 23-game physical gauntlet. Before that, only three rotation players,Fox, Luke Kornet, and Harrison Barnes,had any playoff experience whatsoever. Now? Young guns like Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Harper are battle-tested beyond belief. Wembanyama put it perfectly: “We got to get our brains used to doing those hard things.” He knows physicality is partly technique, but “it’s mostly effort and mostly going through some uncomfortable things. There’s just one way to beat that, and that is to do it, so I’m glad we faced those teams.” Kornet, who knows a thing or two about winning a title with Boston in 2024, totally agreed, saying they got “good learning experiences in terms of ways to grow.”
Coach Johnson Knew What Was Up
Don’t get it twisted, the Spurs weren’t a soft squad to begin with. They racked up 62 wins and snagged the No. 2 seed in the West, largely thanks to their defensive rating and total rebounding numbers. Coach Mitch Johnson even said they “went through an evolution of (playing more physical) during the regular season.” He saw teams trying to beat them up, especially targeting Wembanyama, and he watched his younger players learn how to be “smart and physical.” That element of their game grew massively. But the Finals? That whole series reinforced just how much tougher they needed to get, especially when they struggled to match the Knicks’ sheer relentlessness. This experience, Fox believes, is a “key component going into this season.” They learned the hard way, they earned that grit, and now they’re coming back with a whole new level of physicality.
So, what does this all mean for the new season? The Spurs aren’t just back; they’re coming back as an entirely different beast. They know what it takes to survive a slugfest, and they’ve got the mental and physical toughness to prove it. The league better be ready.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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