There was a time when there was not less than an ember of a thought that the San Antonio Spurs would possibly need to finally commerce Stephon Fortress. No one from contained in the Spurs ever stated and even hinted at that, simply to be clear, however you understand how the Twitter GMs get to dreaming stuff up.
Developing their very best Victor Wembanyama assist employees, they pointed to San Antonio’s guard glut after they traded for De’Aaron Fox and drafted Dylan Harper and posited that certainly one of them might feasibly go. If Fortress’s taking pictures did not come round, maybe he could be the quick straw — particularly if a sure participant from Milwaukee have been to grow to be obtainable and a premium younger asset was wanted to anchor an outgoing bundle.
Quick ahead to mid-December and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is saying the Spurs are so head over heels in love with Fortress that he is “undecided they might commerce him for anyone within the league.”
Draymond Inexperienced took it even additional when he just lately stated on his podcast that “the Spurs are simply as fortunate to have Stephon Fortress as they’re to have Wemby.”
We will all agree this can be a contact of hyperbole, however you get the purpose. Fortress is a two-way monster. Everybody sees it. His efficiency over the three NBA Cup elimination video games — 30 and 10 in 27 minutes towards the Lakers, 22 in handing OKC its second lack of the season, 15 and 12 within the closing that really would not depend on paper — had Stan Van Gundy and Dwyane Wade gushing like new dad and mom.
The Spurs are already one thing of a defensive cheat code after they pair Fortress’s perimeter strain with Wembanyama’s paint safety. When these two have shared the ground collectively this yr, the Spurs have outscored opponents by 13.5 factors per 100 possessions with a 102.9 defensive ranking, which might rank larger than the No. 1 Thunder, who is likely to be the most effective protection in historical past.
Any considerations about Fortress’s offensive upside are shortly being laid to relaxation, as properly. He is certainly one of six gamers averaging not less than 18 factors, six assists and 5 rebounds on 50% taking pictures. His 3-point accuracy stays a piece in progress, however he seems to be extra snug than his 28% clip would point out and he is making 62% of his 2-pointers, nearly a 25% uptick from the 50% he made in his Rookie of the Yr marketing campaign.
The e book on him continues to be to provide him a cushion as a result of he isn’t going to harm you with pull-up 3s, however what he’s going to do is chew up the runway in entrance of him. Fortress’s 13.6 drives per sport are up from 9.4 as a rookie, and when he will get into the paint, he is a 70% finisher contained in the restricted space and 54% exterior, the latter being a serious leap from the 34% clip he posted as a rookie.
Fortress is not a blow-by man. He works angles. Modifications path. When he snakes his means into area and fades away, you possibly can see loads of Chris Paul.
When he will get into your physique and makes use of his power and steadiness to separate into these gray-area step-backs, there’s loads of Jimmy Butler.
It would really feel untimely to start out drawing famous person comps for Fortress, however with Butler particularly, there actually are loads of similarities. The 2-way impression. The poise with which he pursues his scoring spots. The power to complete via contact, so pure enjoying off two ft, producing extra lateral than vertical leverage, the timing of his pump fakes as he places you in jail underneath the rim. There’s some finesse there for positive, however power could be the one-word description for guys like Butler and Fortress.
Versatility, too. Previous to the season, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised Fortress’s confirmed capacity to reach varied roles, with and with out the ball, and that is going to be, and has been, an important a part of his worth. Fortress is not the standard flooring spacer that Harrison Barnes has grow to be. You’ll be able to’t put him into the three&D field {that a} Devin Vassell fills. He most likely is not an A1 scorer like Fox, and in the end, he might not even be the pure level guard that Harper appeared poised to grow to be.
What makes Fortress so uniquely worthwhile is that he has shades of all these items. A kind of supercharged Josh Hart on this means (if you wish to hold the comps extra modest in the interim) — a born ball pusher who performs each ends with action-junkie vitality and stuffs each inch of the stat sheet.
Earlier this month, Fortress joined Magic Johnson as the one gamers in historical past to have posted not less than 250 factors, 100 assists and 90 rebounds on not less than 50% taking pictures via the primary 15 video games of their second NBA season.
In his two video games because the NBA Cup, Fortress has tallied 34 factors and 14 assists on 66% taking pictures. He has made 12 of his 13 two-pointers. His playmaking is advancing on an nearly nightly foundation. His enchancment as a catch-and-shoot risk, particularly in the event you go away him alone (nearly 40% on unguarded C&S 3s, up from 34% final yr, per Synergy), bodes properly for his viability as an sufficient flooring spacer alongside Wemby, Fox and Harper.
“Stephon Fortress is a winner,” Draymond Inexperienced says. “He is been a winner his complete life. And I believe Stephon Fortress has introduced the profitable methods to the San Antonio Spurs.
“The Spurs are a profitable group,” Inexperienced elaborated, “however they have been shedding for some time and you have to get these methods again. And Stephon Fortress to me is without doubt one of the final winners. He is a type of sorts of guys. … He is a winner. He alters cultures. He is received at each degree he is performed at. And he’ll proceed to win greater and higher at this degree.”
