SAN ANTONIO — Before sitting out of the team's recent game against the Warriors, San Antonio Spurs' Devin Vassell put together a string of 20-plus point outings, including a 31-point performance against Utah on the road.
That string of games highlighted how much the fourth-year pro has excelled in his NBA development on both sides of the court and reinforced his importance moving forward.
"I feel like just reading defenses," he said. "Offensively, by either getting doubled and being able to play out of it."
Vassell is a potent scorer and showed it during the season.
In February, he averaged a season-high 22.5 points per game through 12 games. In March, he recorded 20.2 points per game in 13 games played.
In his last three outings, he has averaged 26.7 points per game and 52% field goal shooting in the fourth period this season, his highest shooting average in any period played.
"He’s been putting them up all year," Gregg Popovich said. "He's been unbelievably aggressive and confident the entire year."
With Victor Wembanayma as the team's primary offensive focus, Vassell has emerged as the team's secondary go-to scorer.
He has 36 20-plus scoring nights this season and is one of five Spurs in history with multiple outings of 5-plus three-pointers in his first 100 career games.
Getting double-teamed during the season is a sign that the opposition respects his ability to put the basket in the hoop, but even at that, he is finding ways to help the team.
"Being able to create for others has been my biggest thing," said Vasell about improving his ability to create opportunities for his teammates out of double teams.
And the numbers prove how much he's been an impactful facilitator for the Spurs.
According to Cleaning The Glass, Vassell ranks in the 90th percentile at his position in assist percentage, at 19.2%, and owns a Usage Rate of 23.5. That is second behind Wembanyama at 31.9.
Vassell will have seven more games to continue his impressive upward trend as the season progresses.
And there is little doubt he will shine on the floor.
"He's been doing it all year," Popovich said.