Heading into the 2023-24 season, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich made three things very clear: the goal was to return to winning (i.e. not “tanking”, although that never meant this team would turn into a winner overnight), the main focus would be improving on defense, and Victor Wembanyama would be allowed to freelance for a while so the team could learn who he is before they begin truly “coaching” him.
We are now 11 games in, with the Spurs sitting at 3-8 and spiraling downhill on a 6-game losing streak, all while becoming only the second team to ever to lose three games by 30-plus so quickly, joining the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets, who finished that season with a 20-62 record (hat tip to J.