San Antonio Spurs open the new year with perhaps more questions than most teams. Most focus on superstar Victor Wembanyama.

The Silver and Black at Wemby highlights the best young player who has become the best young player the NBA has seen in years. While there’s little doubt he’ll be among the league’s best, if not all-time greats, how much better can he get as a sophomore after a unanimous Rookie of the Year season?

The team’s biggest players, Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, instantly make the Spurs better. But Paul’s best years, though still valuable, are behind him; Barnes, on the other hand, is the most effective type of player as one of the important players of the play-off team.

How much of an impact will rookie Stephon Castle make this season? While last June’s fourth overall pick was the preseason favorite to win Rookie of the Year, most goalies aren’t given much playing time in San Antonio.

Here are the predictions regarding these questions.

Victor Wembanyama will be in the top 5 in MVP voting

Wemby will win multiple NBA MVPs before the 20-year-old center’s career is over. Relatedly, he will be among the finalists of the award several more times. He may not have a chance to be in the top three right now, but he will be in the top 5.

The 7-foot-3 phenom is primed for a massive repeat. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.58 blocks and 1.24 steals in just 29.7 minutes per game, the best in the NBA. The player, who is the league leader with a total of 1,522 points, 755 rebounds, 274 assists, 254 blocks and 88 steals, is the player with more than 1,500 points, more than 700 rebounds, more than 250 assists, more than 250 blocks and more than 100 steals in NBA history. He became the first player to score more than . 3-pointers in a single season. The 2023-24 Rookie of the Year also earned First-Team All-Defensive honors after finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Imagine what he could do with more playing time. And with players who will prioritize placing him in better spots. Speaking of…

Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes to help Spurs in Play-In campaign

Spurs, who won 22 matches in the 2023-24 season, will win at least 15 more matches this season. This will ultimately fall short of the top 10 record in the Western Conference and therefore the Play-In, but they will be in the hunt heading into the final month of the season.

Paul, 39, and Barnes have quickly become two of Spurs’ five best players. Currently only Wembanyama and Devin Vassell will miss start of seasonThey are better players now. As well as helping Wemby’s rise, the experienced duo will also help Vassell and the remaining top players in the young core, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson, grow. They will also prove valuable to the Spurs’ final first-round pick.

Stephon Castle Will Win Rookie of the Year Award

The highest draft pick the Spurs have outside of their top three overall picks (Wemby with David Robinson and Tim Duncan), Stephon Castle will shine as a rookie. In fact, the early predictions that he would win Rookie of the Year will prove true. The former UConn Husky star’s talent will eventually be too much to ignore.

Typically slow for first-year players, Castle’s skill as a 6-foot-11 point guard will force the Spurs to give him minutes; especially in a season where Wembanyama wants to compete at the league level.