Ja'Kobi Gillespie finds minutes early as the Spurs' rookie guard
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, the 6-0 rookie guard out of Tennessee, is on the Spurs roster wearing No. 17 and is not on the injury report. His workload has swung from a 25-point night against Utah to barely a minute against Oklahoma City. The 22-year-old is still fighting for a steady spot in the rotation.
By the Spurs Nightly Desk · updated 10 h ago01The story of the nightSix games, six different workloadsGillespie's early run with San Antonio has been uneven in minutes but productive when he plays.
Gillespie's early run with San Antonio has been uneven in minutes but productive when he plays. He opened October 8 against Atlanta with 8 points in 9.1 minutes in a loss. Two nights later he added 3 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in 11.4 minutes against Phoenix. The breakout came October 12 against Utah: 25 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in 24.9 minutes with a plus-7, though the Spurs lost. He followed with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 14.6 minutes in a win over Phoenix, then 11 points in 9.8 minutes in a win over Sacramento. Against Oklahoma City on October 20, he scored 2 points in 1.2 minutes.
02Where he fits right nowGillespie is a rookie, so there is no prior NBA season to measure him against.
Gillespie is a rookie, so there is no prior NBA season to measure him against. The profile is a small guard at 6-0 and 186 pounds who can score in bursts: 25 points in under 25 minutes against Utah, double figures in three straight games from October 12 through October 16. The minutes tell the other half of the story. He has yet to top 25 minutes in a game, and the OKC outing was a near-DNP. He is healthy, there are no rumors around him, and the question for the coming weeks is whether the scoring buys him a consistent role.
