In the fourth game of Eric Bledsoe’s NBA career back in October 2010, he suited up for the LA Clippers against San Antonio, an accomplished Spurs team that started Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and eventually collected five championships. A decade later, the Spurs are in the midst of a new era and have completely different personnel on the floor, but some things remain the same: Gregg Popovich is still the head coach and San Antonio remains a feared opponent, despite coming off an exceptionally rare non-playoff season in 2019-20.
“It’s a lot different from when they had Tony and Manu running the offense,” Bledsoe said after Sunday’s Pelicans morning shootaround.