Popovich encourages Spurs as Wembanyama, youthful roster make playoff debuts against Trail Blazers

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama and most of his San Antonio teammates will make their playoff debut Sunday against Portland.

Much has been made of the lack of playoff experience on San Antonio’s youthful roster, but the Spurs actually have a ton of postseason knowledge to lean on.

It comes in the form of postseason appearances by veteran players like De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Luke Kornet, Bismack Biyombo and Kelly Olynyk, and staff like associate head coach Sean Sweeney and assistants Corliss Williamson and Rashard Lewis.

But the greatest source of information and inspiration comes from the franchise’s iconic leader, Gregg Popovich.

A fixture at the Spurs practice facility while he continues to rehabilitate from a stroke suffered Nov. 2, 2024, Popovich addressed the team earlier this week.

“(Popovich said) just to be us, not to really do anything different from what we’ve been doing all season,” San Antonio guard Stephon Castle said. “He gave us another perspective on how well we’ve been playing and the position we’ve put ourselves in.”

Sound advice for a team that finished with the league's second-best record at 62-20 and won the Southwest Division for the first time since 2017.

Still, no amount of advice can replace action, but the Spurs are eager for their first playoff series since 2019.

Deni Avdija had 41 points and 12 assists as the Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 114-110 on Tuesday to earn the seventh seed.

San Antonio veteran Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are in the postseason for the first time after playing through all or most of six seasons of futility.

“Me and KJ are super excited,” said Vassell, who is in his fifth season. “We’ve been talking about it over and over, even were talking about it this morning. It’s just good to be in this position, not only just for us, but for the community and for the fans that’s been here and kind of waiting. Its been a long time, overdue, but we’re here and ready to go.”

Wembanyama (22), Castle (21), Champagnie (24) and Vassell (25), Dylan Harper (20) and Carter Bryant (20) lead an energetic and athletic roster that finished third in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

“I don’t think there is anything as far as in the basketball realm that I think we’re nervous about,” Fox said. “Obviously, people talk about experience and all those things, whatever it may be, we’ve to go out there and play basketball and I think we have an extremely good basketball team.”

Portland coach Tiago Splitter played five seasons in San Antonio beginning in 2010, including being a key reserve on the Spurs' 2014 championship team.

Splitter, Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills established the team's “Coffee Gang," primarily made of Spurs reserves who spent a lot of time on the road drinking coffee and having lunch together.

As deep as their friendships are, Splitter knows those bonds only go so far when it comes to who Ginobili and Diaw will cheer for in this series.

“I think there is a romantic feeling about it, but that’s it," Splitter told reporters. “Manu is Spurs for sure. Boris, we’ll see. I got to invite him for a couple glasses of wine.”

San Antonio is 10-0 at home against Portland in the postseason, including arguably the most impactful victory in franchise history.

The Spurs exorcised a history of postseason futility with what is now known as the “Memorial Day Miracle” in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals on May 31 at the Alamodome.

After trailing by 18 points, San Antonio rallied to win on Sean Elliott’s 3-pointer. Elliott tiptoed the sideline, spinning on his toes and keeping his heels elevated to avoid stepping out of bounds to drain a 3-pointer that proved to be the game-winning shot.

San Antonio went on to sweep the series and win its first of five NBA championships.

Portland averaged 17.3 turnovers while committing 1,417, the most in the league this season.

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson became a little superstitious when reminded that the Spurs enter the postseason healthy after battling minor injuries in the final weeks of the season.

“I’ve got to,” Johnson said, rapping a knuckle to his forehead because there was no wood within arm’s reach to knock on.

Wembanyama missed three of the team’s final seven games after suffering a left rib contusion during the first half of San Antonio’s 115-102 victory over Philadelphia on April 6.

Castle missed two of the final three games with right knee and left foot soreness.

Harper injured his left thumb and did not play in the fourth quarter of a 128-118 loss to Denver in its regular-season finale on April 12.

All three will play in the series opener Sunday.

Wembanyama did not play against Portland this season, battling ankle and rib injuries as San Antonio won the season series 2-1.

Considering the Trail Blazers have not seen Wembanyama during the best of his three seasons in the NBA, the Frenchman was jokingly asked if he could be the Spurs secret weapon in this series.

“The best kept secret,” Wembanyama said, laughing afterward.

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Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther, center, tangles with San Antonio Spurs players Carter Bryant (11) and Devin Vassell during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives against Dallas Mavericks' Ryan Nembhard (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 10, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, right, scores against Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn, left, during the second half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama reacts after being called for a foul late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with U.S. officials, a senior Iranian official said Saturday, citing Washington's refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues.

In an interview with The Associated Press on the margins of a diplomacy forum in Turkey, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the United States, rejecting claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.”

On Friday, Trump said that the U.S. will go into Iran and “get all the nuclear dust,” referring to the 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites badly damaged by U.S. military strikes last year.

Khatibzadeh said there have been many exchanges of messages between the sides but accused the United States of holding firm on demands Iran deems to be excessive.

“We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position,” Khatibzadeh said. Iran was seeking the finalization of a “framework agreement” before moving to an in-person meeting, he added.

The Iranian official would not go into specifics of the negotiations with the United States or say which issues remain unresolved but called on Washington to address Iran’s concerns, including sanctions imposed on Iran.

“The other sides also should understand and address our main concerns, which are illegal unilateral sanctions that Americans have imposed on Iranians and this economic terrorism which has targeted Iranian people to suffocate them and make them to revolt against the political structure inside Iran,” Khatibzadeh said.

Asked whether Iran would respond to renewed attacks by Israel on Lebanon despite the ceasefire, Khatibzadeh said: “Iran has no option, just to stop aggressors once and forever.”

Trump said that Israel is “prohibited” by the U.S. from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense.

The Iranian official renewed Iran’s position that Tehran’s actions were defensive and in response to unprovoked aggression occurring in the middle of negotiations.

He also reiterated Iran's position that the ceasefire must extend to Lebanon, where Israel had been fighting with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

When the U.S. and Iran declared a temporary truce last week, Pakistan and Iran said it extended to Lebanon, but Israel — and later the U.S. — denied this. Israel then launched a series of airstrikes on central Beirut, prompting Iran to announce it was once again closing the Strait of Hormuz. Following implementation of a truce in Lebanon Friday, Iran said it had reopened the strait.

“Iran negotiated with good faith, accepted a ceasefire and told everybody that this ceasefire should include all countries, including Lebanon,” Khatibzadeh said. “Then the other side said that, it is not committed to this and then started atrocities.”

He said that a “new protocol” would be put in place for the Strait of Hormuz as part of the negotiations with the U.S. and it would “remain open and safe for all civilian passage.”

Trump has said a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will remain and attacks will resume if no agreement is reached with Iran.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh talks during an interview with Associated Press at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh talks during an interview with Associated Press at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh talks during an interview with Associated Press at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh talks during an interview with Associated Press at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh adjusts his glasses as he talks during an interview with Associated Press at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)