The San Antonio Spurs will be heading to the 2023-24 NBA season with a lot of hype following the arrival of generational prospect Victor Wembanyama, whom they unanimously selected with the first overall pick of this year's NBA Draft.
With the full schedule for the upcoming campaign released, intriguing match-ups are set to happen.
The Spurs do not have a Christmas game, but they will face the Trail Blazers in back-to-back games on December 28 and 29 in Portland, the first meeting between Wembanyama and this year's third-overall pick Scoot Henderson. Damian Lillard could feature in the game if he is not yet traded by then.
The first regular season battle between this year's top two overall picks will happen on January 12, with the Spurs hosting Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets on ESPN. This is the only time Charlotte will appear on a nationally televised game this season.
The Spurs will open their season at home against interstate rivals Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on Wednesday, October 25, on ESPN.
The team will have back-to-back games against the new-look Phoenix Suns to end October and open November.
Wembanyama will visit Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors as part of the new In-Season Tournament on November 24. After this, they will travel to Denver to play Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets on November 26.
The Frenchman will get a first taste of action against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers in back-to-back games on December 13 and 15, both at home.
Four days later, the team will go to Milwaukee to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
Legendary head coach Gregg Popovich will return to coach his 28th season with the franchise after signing a new five-year contract that made him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
The five-time NBA champion coach was recently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend.
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The San Antonio Spurs are back in the national spotlight
The team is officially back in the spotlight, having 19 nationally televised games this season, with 11 on ESPN and TNT and eight on NBA TV.
San Antonio only had one nationally televised game for the past two seasons, a January 2023 game against the Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome on a one-night return to their old home as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary.
The team broke the NBA record for attendance with over 68,000 fans attending the game, but they lost 144-113.
The Spurs played in the Alamodome from 1993 to 2002, and they won their first NBA championship during the 1998-99 season in that period.
They are set to move to a new world-class practice facility ahead of the training camp at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
The facility is located at the much bigger The Rock at La Cantera campus, a mixed-use area featuring several restaurants, bars, work, entertainment, and other commercial spaces.
There have also been discussions about the team building a new playing arena for the future.
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