A lot of Spurs came into the 2021-22 season with something to prove, but few had as much pressure to deliver as Jakob Poeltl. In his first year as a full-time starter, he essentially had no reliable backup and was expected to not only be a defensive presence, like he had been in the past, but also grow as an offensive threat.
We now know the answer to the question of whether Poeltl was up to the task, but the way he did things was both impressive and unorthodox by modern NBA standards for big men, and it’s worth a closer look.