Ja'Kobi Gillespie stepped onto the court in San Francisco for the Spurs’ Summer League opener. The 22-year-old, a 6-foot-1 guard from Tennessee, arrived as a second-round pick and immediately found himself matched against some of the league’s larger point guards. While his debut shooting was uneven, his focus was clear: size should not dictate his NBA future.
Gillespie spent his college career with the Tennessee Volunteers, where he earned All-SEC honors as a senior. Named after the late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, he grew up modeling his game after pint-sized point guard Chris Paul. “I’ve always been the smallest player,” he said, noting that growing up in that role prepared him for the professional level.
The only player smaller on the Spurs’ Summer League roster is fellow Tennessee alumnus Zakai Ziegler, a 5-foot-9 guard who was a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and spent last season with the French club Nanterre 92, a former team of Victor Wembanyama. Gillespie also pointed to New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, a recent NBA Finals MVP, as another example of a guard succeeding without towering height.
From a shooting perspective, his debut did not go well, but his defensive mindset shone through. “I feel like as a small guard, you just got to be a dog,” he explained. “You can’t let people pick on you. You’ve got to be strong.” That grit aligns with the Spurs’ emphasis on hustle and versatility, even as the league increasingly prizes size and defensive flexibility.
The Spurs will watch his Summer League performance closely, assessing his shooting, decision-making and defensive impact before deciding whether to keep him on a standard roster spot, assign him to a two-way role, or develop him further in the G League. In a league where length often dominates headlines, Gillespie’s story underscores that heart and hustle still have a place. Whether he evolves into a reliable floor-general or becomes a footnote in San Antonio’s rebuild, his pursuit of a role for the NBA’s “little guys” adds a compelling subplot to the Spurs’ youth movement.
San Antonio Spurs 
