San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell will miss the start of the upcoming season as he continues to recover from offseason surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, the team said Friday.
Vassell is participating in non-basketball activities, but his status won't be updated until Nov. 1 -- meaning, at a minimum, he'll miss the opening week-plus of the regular season for San Antonio. The 24-year-old has been sidelined since late last season with a stress fracture in the third metatarsal of his right foot. That cut short a season in which he averaged a career-high 19.5 points while playing in 68 games, including a career-high 62 starts.
In addition, he averaged 4.1 assists and shot 47.2% overall from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range with over six attempts per game.
Vassell, the 11th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, is a key building block in San Antonio alongside blossoming superstar big man Victor Wembanyama. After signing a five-year, $135 million extension with San Antonio last year that kicks in this season, Vassell is expected to be one of the mainstays of the roster moving forward as the Spurs, who went 22-60 last season, attempt to build their next contending team around Wembanyama's singular skill set, as well as the offseason signing of Chris Paul.
San Antonio also announced that centers Zach Collins and Charles Bassey should be ready to go for the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 24. Collins suffered a dislocated shoulder in San Antonio's season finale against the Detroit Pistons in April, and Bassey tore his ACL in December.