All-Star weekend was a homecoming for Spurs rookie Carter Bryant

The San Antonio Spurs were well represented during All-Star weekend. Victor Wembanyama was selected as the starter for the All-Star Game. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper participated in the Rising Stars competition, and Harper was also part of the returning Shooting Stars event. And rookie Carter Bryant, who only recently started seeing regular time with the Spurs, was one of the headliners for the Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant was also a late draft pick for the Rising Stars contest as an injury replacement for Memphis Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward. He was impressive during his first All-Star Weekend appearance, showing some of the defensive abilities that the Spurs knew they were getting when they drafted him.

In the Rising Stars’ first game as part of Team Vince, Bryant finished with four points, one rebound and one block in just over five minutes. In the second game, with Vince’s title-winning Rising Stars team, Bryant finished with five points, one rebound and one steal while shooting a perfect 2-of-2, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range.

For Bryant, being able to participate in All-Star Weekend as a rookie is a testament to the hard work he’s put in since being drafted.

“From my perspective, I feel like the work I put in shows, and my teammates held me to a standard that allowed me to play a certain way,” Bryant told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “Obviously with the injury, something had to happen to me for this to happen, but I’ve been blessed enough to be in a position where I’ve played well enough this season, whether it was the last few games, to get the opportunity to play in the Rising Stars game. It’s an honor.”

Not only did Carter Bryant get a chance to participate in NBA Weekend, but it was also a homecoming for the Spurs rookie. His father, D’Cean, was a longtime fixture on the Southern California basketball scene, playing in college at Long Beach State before moving on to coach high school basketball.

Bryant grew up in Southern California and played his senior year of high school for local team Corona Centennial. He also played for his father at Fountain Valley and Sage Hill, two other local high schools. One of the biggest things for him about participating in All-Star Weekend was having his family there.

“Growing up, All-Star weekend is everything for a kid, especially when you love the game. The best basketball players get together and make things happen,” Bryant said. “But for it to be in my hometown, and for it to be something that I’ve always dreamed of being, I’m ecstatic. Just to be able to have my family, to be able to have my loved ones to support me, that means everything.”

And if, of course, as a local kid, former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, the late Kobe Bryant, provided his favorite All-Star memory.

“I would say one that really stood out was Kobe’s last All-Star game. He was a kid from Southern California, he was Kobe growing up, when he got it last year when they had the All-Star game in Toronto,” Bryant said. “Just that whole weekend in general, from the slam dunk contest to the All-Star game, when I had iconic moments in the whole thing, it was dope.”

Carter Bryant is partying with the Spurs

The Rising Stars Game wasn’t the only event Carter Bryant participated in during All-Star weekend. He was also selected for the dunk contest. He made it to the final round of the competition where he eventually lost to Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat.

Although Bryant didn’t win the slam dunk, he had a strong total. He stated that in the past this event served as a kind of coming out party for young players. As he goes through his rookie year with the Spurs, he feels that his participation in All-Star Weekend can be a springboard for his career.

“I feel like the one thing that’s been missing the past few years is the swagger and confidence that a lot of the big guys had that did it in the beginning … it was a big coming out party for the guys in a way. A lot of the young guys that came in, they were really young players, but they wanted to compete for dunks,” Bryant said after getting the dunk energy back. the confidence to believe in what I’m working on. I have a God-given ability with my athleticism and what I can show.

Just before the All-Star break, Bryant got his first real opportunity in the Spurs rotation. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, he continued to play through the first few months of the regular season, but it wasn’t until February that he got consistent playing time.

In the six games he played just before the break, he scored in double figures three times, including a career-high 16 points in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers. During that stretch, Bryant showed signs of being a reliable 3-point shooter. He shot a combined 44 percent from distance, a huge increase from his season average of 32.9 percent.

Much of what he’s learned in terms of what it takes to succeed in the NBA is patience.

“Patience is everything. I’d say that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. Understanding that not everything is going to happen on your terms, understanding how big the learning curve is,” Bryant said. “Having good vets and having a great coaching staff, being able to sit down with more people on the coaching staff … even down to the video room, talking to the training staff about how to take care of my body properly. They’ve seen guys that have done it for a long time and played for 20 years.”

“That’s the ultimate goal, to play long and be a hell of a player,” Bryant continued. “Being able to pick those minds and not stay in those moments when you feel like you can’t do anything right.”

But in addition to his offensive prowess, the defensive end of the court is an area where Bryant shined early in his rookie season. When it comes to Spurs regular rotation players, Bryant is top-10 in the team in defensive rating, according to StatMuse.

Offense sometimes comes and goes in the NBA, and the number of shots and opportunities players get often varies from game to game. But the defensive end of the field, that’s something that’s non-negotiable. Effort and energy in defense should always be present regardless of how many tries a player gets.

That’s the one part of Bryant’s game that he’s 100 percent confident he can make an immediate impact on.

“I don’t think there’s anybody you can put in front of me where I’m going to shy away from competition. I embrace competition. That’s something I grew up with. I grew up watching Kobe. I grew up watching those guys go after each other every night,” Bryant said. “There were no friends when I was growing up watching NBA basketball. That’s the mentality, I try to understand that every night is an opportunity to show what you’re made of.”

At the time of the All-Star break, the Spurs were in second place in the Western Conference standings and were mentioned as possible title contenders. As it stands, they are 40-16 in the West, have won eight straight games and trail the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder by just two and a half games.

Players always have goals they want to achieve during the season, especially young players experiencing the NBA for the first time. But not Bryant. For him, all the individual things will come with time. Right now, it’s all about maximizing his ability to help the team win.

“To make the playoffs, and with the talent that we have and the team that we have, to be able to make it to the finals. I feel like we belong there. I feel like we have a lot of guys that really work their tails off, and I think we have a great balance of vets and young guys,” Bryant said. “We all go to work realizing what the possibility is for us as a team. I think that was the thing for me, I don’t worry about anything individually.”

“Things like that come with time, and they come with winning,” Bryant continued. “Winning is the No. 1 priority.”