Spurs clinch first playoff berth since 2019
The San Antonio Spurs clinched an NBA playoff spot — their first since 2019 — marking the payoff of a long rebuild as the regular season winds down and title odds reshuffle. Standings and tiebreakers are now the focus as teams jockey for seeding down the stretch. (cbssports.com)(espn.com)
Victor Wembanyama buried a 17-foot, one-dribble pull-up fadeaway with 1.1 seconds remaining to put San Antonio ahead 101-100 at Frost Bank Center on March 19, 2026. (espn.com) Wembanyama finished that game with 34 points and 12 rebounds, marking his 11th 30-point/10-rebound outing this season and the most such games by a Spur since Tim Duncan in 2003–04. (espn.com) The crowd at Frost Bank Center numbered 18,648 for the sellout, and ESPN research noted that the winner was Wembanyama’s first go-ahead make in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career. (espn.com) Mitch Johnson has been serving as the Spurs’ head coach since Gregg Popovich stepped down and moved into a front-office role on May 2, 2025, a leadership change San Antonio announced last season. (espn.com) The victory moved San Antonio’s record and standings position sharply upward (game recap lists the team at 52-18 after the win), a swing that reshapes Western Conference seeding scenarios. (nba.com) With the regular season scheduled to conclude on April 12, CBS Sports’ current playoff picture shows tight play‑in permutations in both conferences — for the West their projection lists No.7 Suns vs. No.8 Clippers and No.9 Trail Blazers vs. No.10 Warriors as the play‑in matchups entering play on March 20. (cbssports.com) Futures markets have shortened San Antonio’s title odds after the Spurs’ surge, listing the team around +650 to win the 2026 NBA championship while Victor Wembanyama’s MVP odds sit near 18-1 in recent sportsbooks’ tracking. (espn.com)
