Devin Vassell says he will be back for the next game after nearly four weeks out

San Antonio Spurs wing Devin Vassell will play his first game in 2026. The organization’s injury report, released the day before the contest against the New Orleans Pelicans, did not include the Florida State alum. That echoed what Vassell said after the team’s practice earlier in the day.

“I’m ready to go. I’m ready to go,” Vasell repeated. “I’m excited.”

The game against New Orleans will mark his first action since the Dec. 29 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, after which he was diagnosed with a left adductor strain.

“There’s nothing like playing, being in the heat of the moment with your guys, going through the battles,” Vassell said. “So I’m excited to be back.”

“I’m ready to go…

Yes, sure, sure (about whether he will play tomorrow).”

-Devin Vassell says @tom_orsborn to play against the Pelicans. Tom has since reported #Spurs confirm that Dev will not be in the next injury report#PorVida #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/9OuVB30G4p

— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) January 24, 2026

When asked directly if he was definitely going to play against the Pelicans, Vassell didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah, sure,” Vassell said. “Sure.”

In 32 games this season, second in terms of length of service Spur is averaging 15 points, four rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 minutes per game.

Devin Vassell talks about his time away from the Spurs

As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy for Wasel to sit back and watch his team battle as one of the best in the NBA.

“Injuries are injuries, man, and they suck,” Vasell said. “I wanted to play almost every game, but when an injury like that happens, and what the season was like and things like that with an injury like that, you don’t rush it, you try to come back.”

“Good rehab. I had good practices with my guys and I just feel good.”

Before the injury, Vassell was enjoying the healthiest season of his career. He missed 18 games last year, including the last few weeks. He played 68 games the previous year and only 38 in the 2022-2023 season. The 2021-22 campaign is the only one in which the Suwannee, Ga., native played more than 70 games with 71.

“I’ll be right back. Real fullback like I never left,” added Vassell. “The team is doing well. When you’re not playing, you try to sit and be engaged as much as you can, talk to them, talk to them through timeouts and stuff like that.

The 11th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Vassell expects to face a minutes limit upon his return. Famously cautious with injuries for the better part of two decades, c Spurs continue that practice with Victor Vembanyama as well as players who are not part of their rotation.

“I don’t know what the records are going to look like, but I’m excited to be back out there,” Vasell said. “I’m good to go.”

San Antonio went 8-5 in games Vasell missed. Although does not indicate their best ballit kept them in second place in the Western Conference.

“It’s a testament to the depth we have on this team and the confidence we have in all our guys,” Vassell concluded. “We have a ton of people this year and we’ve always been able to come back and honestly, we’re still excelling. That’s huge.”

That’s how you could describe Vassell’s return to a Spurs team that continues to compete with the best in the NBA.