The NBA Draft is Wednesday. Here’s what Spurs fans need to know.

SAN ANTONIO — Just three days after the NBA crowned a new champion Sunday night, the league will be welcoming 59 new faces starting Wednesday evening, and the Spurs are in prime position to make a splash at the top of the selections.

If the NBA Finals matchup taught us anything, it’s that championships are won later in the draft.

Just look at the starting lineups for each team and where each player was selected in his respective draft year:

Oklahoma City Thunder:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 11th pick

• Lu Dort: Undrafted

• Jalen Williams: 12th pick

• Chet Holmgren: 2nd pick

• Isaiah Hartenstein: 43rd pick

Indiana Pacers:

So while lots of excitement comes with getting the No. 1 overall pick, only one of the starters in this year’s Finals (Chet Holmgren) was taken in the top 10.

Four of the best players were selected with the 11th or 12th pick of their respected drafts (Gilgeous-Alexander in 2018, Williams in 2022, Haliburton in 2020, Myles Turner in 2015), so watch out for the Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls, who own those picks this year.

And while the Spurs own pick No. 2, they also own pick No. 14, which could be an underrated addition to this core if played right.

Don’t forget pick No. 38, as Gregg Popovich is famous for turning late round picks into gems, with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili being perfect examples.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Spurs’ busy Wednesday night.

The 2025 NBA Draft is set to take place on Wednesday, June 25 (1st round) and Thursday, June 26 (2nd round). The first round starts at 7 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN or ABC. The second round starts at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

If you want to watch the draft with other Spurs fans, the team is hosting a Draft Watch Party at Frost Plaza at The Rock at La Cantera. The start time is set for 6:30 p.m.

To RSVP and learn more, click here.

The Spurs have three picks in this year’s draft. Here’s a look at who might be in their sights:

The Spurs moved up to the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft this year, continuing their fortune in recent lotteries.

While not lucking out and getting No. 1 and presumably Cooper Flagg (that’s for one of the other Texas teams), the Spurs aren’t complaining about the consolation prize.

While there has been much speculation about the Spurs trading this pick, recent reports suggest that the Spurs will be standing pat and selecting Rutgers guard Dylan Harper.

Harper, son of former NBA champion Ron Harper, is a 6’5″, 213-pound point guard who has been compared to Pistons guard Cade Cunningham.

He averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals in his lone season at Rutgers, and he impressed with his “do-it-all” playing style.

“Harper is a big-bodied, do-it-all playmaker with positional versatility,” NBA.com says in his draft profile. “He puts a ton of pressure on the rim, is creative with his footwork and can finish smoothly with both hands.”

Now Spurs fan may be against this due to the fact that the Spurs already have two point guards: De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

Fox, a former all-star, was just acquired from the Sacramento Kings last year, and Castle is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign, so would Harper clog things up?

An NBA draft expert said in May that there was a 99.9% chance the Spurs take Harper at 2, and that the Spurs think that they can “play Harper together with Steph Castle and De’Aaron Fox in the same backcourt.”

One might also suggest that Harper has a higher ceiling than both 27-year-old Fox and Castle, so while it may look like a crowded backcourt now, they might actually be getting their true long-term point guard for the future.

Either way, if they do select Harper, they have a year to experiment with him and the two other guards, and if they don’t like what they see, they can easily trade one of them to a point guard-needy team next summer for a position of need.

Many experts suggest Harper’s value at No. 2 is too intriguing to pass up or trade.

Now let’s say the 0.1% chance hits and the Spurs don’t take Harper: The Spurs have their choice of Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson and Kon Knueppel, among others.

If you believe in odds however, it looks like Harper will be wearing silver and black next year.

As we said earlier, while the No. 2 pick is flashier, championships are won later in the draft, and in this one the Spurs have the rare opportunity to add another lottery pick, courtesy of the Atlanta Hawks.

Acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade in 2022, this pick is a much bigger mystery than the No. 2 pick, as it’s difficult to really project who’ll be there when the Spurs land back on the clock, especially if this draft is as unpredictable as expected.

It’s also not clear whether the Spurs even will make this pick, as it’s possible they could trade it.

If they do keep it, the best way to guess who they’ll select is by looking at mock drafts.

USA Today‘s most recent mock draft has the Spurs taking French big man Joan Beringer. If they want to appease Wemby, taking another French big man could be in the cards for the Spurs.

“He has a strong defensive presence with a high upside who can impact the game defensively right away,” USA Today says. “Beringer led the ABA League in blocks this season and ranks third overall in Defensive Statistical Impact (DSI) in his league, per Cerebro Sports.”

ESPN echos this decision, saying Beringer is “the draft’s best shot blocker.”

One of the Spurs’ major weaknesses last season was center depth, as they had to sign Bismack Biyombo to fill in Wemby and Charles Bassey’s role when they both got injured. So selecting a big man who can back up Wemby would make some sense here with the last lottery pick.

NBAdraft.net has the Spurs taking another big man, this one being Georgetown center Thomas Sorber.

They call Sorber “one of the most skilled big men” in the draft. The 19-year-old averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 blocks last season.

“If healthy, Sorber offers modern 4/5 versatility and long-term starter potential,” NBAdraft.net says. “And would likely be considered an even stronger lottery candidate without the injury uncertainty.”

Adding to the variety, CBS Sports have the Spurs taking Michigan forward Danny Wolf.

An older prospect (if you want to call 21 old), Wolf “plays like a guard on the perimeter while still bringing the physicality of a more traditional big,” according to CBS Sports.

If Wolf and Wemby can start together, they could also start an alliterative “Wemby-Wolf” connection.

Yet another contrarian is Bleacher Report, which has the Spurs taking Duke forward Cedric Coward.

“With a second lottery pick, the Spurs may think about gambling on a player who’s played few reputable opponents,” Bleacher Report says. “He may also have hidden/untapped upside worth reaching for, and San Antonio could picture playing him as a small-4 next to Victor Wembanyama.”

If you thought the No. 14 pick was unpredictable, welcome to the second round, where teams basically throw darts at the board in the hopes of landing the next Nikola Jokic or Jalen Brunson.

It would be insane work to try to guess who they’ll take here, but it’s worth paying attention to the selection as they seek out the next gem. After all, this is the same team that turned the No. 57 pick in 1999 into a household name. (Emanuel Ginobili anyone?)

With the draft comes rumors, and the Spurs have been the epicenter of a lot of those recently.

From the pretty-much dead Giannis rumors to the now-very-dead Kevin Durant rumors, the Spurs’ abundance of assets has made them a perfect team to mock major names to.

However, it’s becoming more and more unlikely that the Spurs make a trade for a top star, according to reports.

It looks like Giannis wants to stay in Milwaukee (although crazier things have happened so I wouldn’t count it out quite yet), so a trade for the Greek Freak may not be in the cards.

Trade rumors for 37-year-old Kevin Durant have ended now, as the former Longhorns star is now reportedly set to be traded to the Houston Rockets.

Durant had said the Spurs are a team he’d want to get traded to, but the Suns reportedly were “underwhelmed” with the trade offers they received from the Spurs and others.

Could any other deals be in the making? It’s always possible that the Spurs trade one of their picks for a veteran player.  But rumors are rumors: It’s just speculation until an actual deal happens.

To put it into perspective, Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers out of nowhere last season, so you never really know what’s going to happen.

As of now, the facts are that the Spurs own the No. 2, No. 14 and No. 38 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.

So get ready for a wild night where future stars will be finding out where there’ll be starting their careers.

I know Spurs fans hope some of the guys they select can potentially help them win their first championship since 2014.