SAN ANTONIO — If you only tuned into the final month of the 2023-24 San Antonio Spurs season, you might think Sandro Mamukelashvili was a lineup lynchpin. The crafty, fan-favorite forward was a big reason the team won four of their last six games.
But in reality, Mamukelashvili spent the bulk of the season as a little-used reserve.
Will his strong finish to the season force himself into the team’s future plans? How the Spurs weigh Mamukelashvili’s sample size could ultimately determine his fate with the franchise moving forward.
How he got here
The player affectionately referred to as “Mamu” came to the Spurs via a waiver-wire pickup from the Milwaukee Bucks in March of 2023. He played collegiately at Seton Hall, where he was named Big East Player of the Year in 2021, beating out current Spurs teammates Julian Champagnie (St. John’s) and David Duke Jr. (Providence).
Mamu quickly endeared himself to Spurs fans, averaging 10.8 points over the final 19 games of that season. The Spurs then rewarded him with a one-year, $1.2 million dollar contract to return in 2023-24.
But the additions of rookie superstar Victor Wembanyama and Cedi Osman pushed Mamukelashvili back down the Spurs’ depth chart to begin the campaign.
For a majority of the year, Mamukelashvili primarily saw the court when the outcome of the game had already been decided. Prior to March 31, Mamukelashvili had only three games in which played at least 15 minutes.
But with Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson shut down for the final month of the season due to various ailments, Mamukelashvili took full advantage of his time on the court.
In the team’s final eight games, Mamu averaged 11.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. In a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on April 9, Mamukelashvili snatched a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 11 points.
“I never took nothing for granted,” said Mamukelashvili of his patience on the bench. “I’m not the guy who holds grudges, or gets upset at home. I know I’m in the best situation I can be.”
“I’ll go home every day, see my dogs, and come in. I have a big facility to work out in. The teammates, great teammates to be around and great coach to learn from, so that’s all I really want.”
Arguably even more impressive was Mamukelashvili’s 21-point, 12-rebound double-double in the team’s comeback win over the defending champion Denver Nuggets on April 12. Mamu’s late-season effort even drew praise from Gregg Popovich, who admitted the team will be forced to have serious discussion about making the 6-foot-9 Georgian big man a part of the team’s larger plans.
“We definitely have to have that discussion,” said Popovich on bringing Mamukelashvili back for next season. “I’ve said it before: He really knows how to play.”
A mutual desire?
Popovich is quick to admit that opportunity knocked in the case of Mamukelashvili.
“We’ve seen flashes all year long. Some of it’s erratic, some of it’s really good. That comes with somebody that’s trying to carve out a career and trying to get minutes.”
“He’s a done a good job," Pop added. "He deserves a very serious discussion.”
When told that Popovich acknowledged the need for having a “serious discussion,” Mamukelashvili flashed a smile.
“I’m grateful for Pop, for the opportunity. He brought me in after I got waived from Milwaukee and believed in me from day one. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I love being here. But it’s a business, so we’ll see what happens.”
Mamukelashvili will be a restricted free agent this summer, which means he is eligible to sign an offer-sheet with another team starting on July 1.
Regardless, the Spurs will have the right to match any offer sheet signed with another team.
But arguably the biggest factor in Mamukelashvili’s potential return is the support he has from Wembanyama.
The 7-foot-4 likely Rookie of the Year had great chemistry playing with Mamukelashvili down the stretch, outscoring opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions on the floor together.
The Spurs want to build their roster for contention, which is synonymous with building around Wembanyama. Mamukelashvili likely won’t be viewed as a starter next to Wemby in the future frontcourt, but he has some real value as a depth piece as he showed this season.
As a comparison, Boris Diaw carved out a five-year career with the Spurs from 2012-16 as a reserve forward behind Tim Duncan. Diaw never averaged more than 10 points per game with the Spurs, but his energy and craftiness proved vital in San Antonio winning the 2014 NBA Championship.
A similarly-sized Mamukelashvili could try to fit the same mold.
If the Spurs want to keep “Mamu” around, now would be the time to do it before his price tag gets too earnest for his role. It would make fans happy. Maybe more importantly, it would make Victor Wembanyama happy.
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