Spurs’ Carter Bryant battling NBA ‘behemoths’ heading into playoffs

Carter Bryant’s versatility was considered one of his promoting factors to NBA groups after his one-and-done freshman season at Arizona.

“Throughout my pre-draft process, I was kind of like, ‘Yeah, I would love to be able to guard one through five eventually,’” Bryant stated.

“Eventually” got here a lot sooner than he anticipated.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson utilized Bryant for a lot of the second half of the season as a “small-ball” center in a role pitting the 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward against much bigger players.

“It was eventually small, and then it’s like I’m playing these games and you’re guarding behemoths of human beings,” Bryant said. “(Portland’s 6-10, 249-pound) Robert Williams and (7-3, 280-pound) Donovan Clingan are massive, … guarding guys like (Denver’s 7-0, 284-pound Nikola) Jokic. I think when we played Minnesota, we had a few minutes where I was guarding (7-1, 255) Rudy Gobert.

“Yo, these dudes are huge.”

But Bryant didn’t shrink from the challenge, understanding he wasn’t being called on to protect the rim anywhere near as effectively as his 7-foot-plus teammates Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet.

“My job isn’t to block every shot,” Bryant said. “I’m not Vic or Luke.”

Bryant is ready for more minutes as a small-ball five during the playoffs, beginning with the first-round series against the Trail Blazers. Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference matchup is set for 8 p.m. Sunday at the Frost Bank Center.

“He’s been great,” Wembanyama, 22, said of his 20-year-old teammate.

“He’s on a learning curve, but he’s very impressive,” the French star added. “It’s a pleasure to watch him play because you can tell he’s super involved.  And the progress he’s making, you can see it happen before our eyes. It’s great because it just makes you wonder what he can be in one (playoff) series from now. Not even talking about one year or five years from now.”

Bryant benefited in his battles with the “behemoths” from a few tricks he learned from his teammates.

“It’s not about how physical you are, it’s more about using your brain,” forward Julian Champagnie said. “But Carter’s really strong for a young guy, so he can maybe knock them off their spots. But for me, I’m trying to get around them, trying to make it a little difficult with my hands.”

Bryant, the 14th overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft, poses his own set of challenges for opposing big men with his athleticism and ability to stretch the floor. The native of Riverside, Calif., finished the season strong after a slow start, averaging 14.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 56.3% from 3-point range on 5.3 attempts over the last three games.

READ MORE: NBC Sports going all out for playoff debut of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama

For the season, Bryant averaged 4.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists while shooting 33.5% from beyond the arc on 2.2 attempts in 71 games.

In years past, Gregg Popovich favored using veterans over rookies off the bench in the playoffs, but Johnson doesn’t expect Bryant and fellow rookie Dylan Harper, who the Spurs selected No. 2 overall, to freeze up against the Blazers in the bright playoff spotlight.

Harper, who suffered a thumb injury last week in the loss to Denver in the regular season finale, is probable for Sunday’s primetime game on NBC/Peacock after averaging 11.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 34.3% from deep on 2.6 attempts over 69 games.

“I believe they will be excited,” Johnson said. “I believe they will play laborious. I believe they will play quick. And they’re 19 (really 20). I hope they take pleasure in it.”

Harper was a key reserve all season while it took Bryant awhile to earn a spot in the rotation.

“I think the fact that Carter’s been out there when we’ve gone small shows the equity and trust he’s gained from us as a coaching staff,” Johnson said. “Because that’s a much different (role). … He’s doing some really, really good things and that’s probably as big of a reflection of his growth than any stat or something that maybe the surface level can’t quantify.”

The Spurs selection of Bryant as a lottery pick was the “steal” of the draft, many analysts said. It was also in keeping with Spurs general manager Brian Wright’s plan to stock the team with versatile players who fit well in today’s position-less NBA.

“Positions in this day and age don’t matter as much,” Wright said on draft night.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd agreed when asked last week about Bryant playing small-ball center.

“When we look at the way the game is played now, I don’t know if it’s called small ball really or it’s just a natural (progression of the game),” Kidd said. “You have a lot of teams that have small-ball fives who are able to stretch the defense, or they’re more physical and they’re in there for defense purposes.”

Bryant gives the Spurs both of those qualities, but it’s his defense that intrigues them most.

“Carter is one of our best defenders, so he can play a variety of different positions on the floor,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “His versatility allows us to be able to play him at the small-ball five. As a rookie, he’s been able to pick up so many different things on the fly defensively just in terms of how to anchor a defense when you’re playing the five. The biggest thing is using your voice. He’s caused a lot of disruption on the defensive end.”

Bryant’s willingness to step out of his comfort zone and take on the challenging role underscored his desire to find a way to get on the court.

“I’m a competitor,” he said. “I want to play. I want to compete. I want to help us win games. But while still understanding that my timeline’s different than everybody else. I don’t have to have the same timeline as everybody else. I still believe at the end of the day, we’re going to look up in 15, 20 years and there’s going to be a lot of teams that say, ‘How did we pass on this guy?’ I truly believe I’m going to be at the top of that draft class. So understanding my process, I just have to be patient.”

Taking on one “behemoth” at a time.