Devin Vassell has become the Spurs’ quiet problem for Oklahoma City. Through four games in the conference finals, he has averaged 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks, and he has done it while the Thunder keep most of their attention on Victor Wembanyama.
That production matters now because the series is tied in a best-of-seven set, and Vassell is giving San Antonio a second scorer Oklahoma City cannot comfortably ignore. He has shot 45.2 percent from deep through four games, with 7.8 of his 11.3 shots per game coming from the perimeter, which makes him more than a side note in a matchup built around Wembanyama.
What makes Vassell more troublesome is the way he has affected Oklahoma City on both ends. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 29.4 percent when guarded by Vassell, a number that helps explain why the Spurs have been able to keep the Thunder from locking the game down around one matchup. The Thunder have tried to make Wembanyama the center of the series, but Vassell has kept finding efficient looks and steady stops anyway.
That has not come out of nowhere. During four regular-season contests against Oklahoma City, Vassell shot 34.9 percent from the floor and 31.0 percent from deep, so this is not a player suddenly discovering the Thunder. The difference now is the stage and the consistency: in the playoffs, he is carrying a bigger scoring load while also making life harder for one of the league’s best guards.
For San Antonio, that is the kind of secondary pressure that can swing a tied series. For Oklahoma City, it means the defensive game plan cannot stop at Wembanyama, no matter how tempting that remains. If the Thunder can’t take Vassell’s rhythm away in the next game, they may be forced to choose between giving him space again or loosening the grip on the player they have built the series around.
