2023-24 Spurs Player Reviews: Dominick Barlow
26/04/2024 14:30
The sophomore big man showed signs of being a keeper long term.
Welcome to Pounding the Rock's 2023-24 player reviews! The series will look at the 15 players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts (so no two-way players because we saw so little of them this year, and no Doug McDermott). Enjoy!
Dominick Barlow
2023-24 stats: 33 games, 4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 49.6 FG%.
Contract Status: Restricted Free Agent
Age: 20
Out of all of the promising young players on the San Antonio Spurs roster, Dominick Barlow was the one left without a clear role. Entering the season on a two-way contract, Barlow had tantalizing flashes of upside, but didn't have a path to consistent minutes to realize that potential. He went back and forth between San Antonio and Austin, destroying G League competition and playing spot minutes in the NBA.
That was until a stretch in January, and then again in March where the Spurs other big men battled injuries. That opened an opportunity for Barlow, who was given a shot as the back up center, or sometimes a reserve forward. He played 20 of his 33 games in the months of January and March. As for most 20-year-olds trying to make a career in the NBA, the results in those games were mixed. Barlow has clear chops as a defender. He can switch out onto smaller players and keep up with his quick feet. He also showed a bit of nastiness around the basket despite being undersized. He is a worker on the offensive and defensive glass, constantly putting his body on the line to save or extend possessions.
Barlow flashed offensive skill as well. He has soft touch from the mid-range and expanded his range out to three, where he hit three of his nine attempts. His handle is better than most big men, and much like the rest of the Spurs bigs, he can pass it a bit. His stellar G League numbers shouldn't go unnoticed, either. In 19 games played in Austin, Barlow averaged 23.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
Looking forward
A knee injury sidelined Barlow at the end of the season. If not for getting hurt, we probably would have seen him play a bigger role in the last stretch of the year with so many rotation players sitting out. Much like the end of 2022-23, this would have been a time for Barlow to earn his way into more minutes in the future. Unfortunately for him, others like Sandro Mamukelashvili and Sidy Cissoko showed that they should be considered for rotation spots in the years to come.
Barlow has the skill to become a rotation player in the NBA one day. The problem is there isn't a clear path for that to happen in San Antonio. The Spurs are committed to a lot of front court players with Victor Wembanyama, Zach Collins and Charles Bassey on the roster. Unless the Spurs move Collins and don't pick up Bassey's contract, it's tough to see how he fits into the rotation. His minutes at the 4 alongside another big were shaky at best. His long term success will likely be as an undersized center.
That said, the Spurs aren't in a position where they can simply give up on young talent. Barlow is a restricted free agent, meaning San Antonio can match any contract an opposing team offers him. It's hard to imagine someone tossing a bag at Barlow, meaning he should be affordable. At worst, he's a third big man who has promising upside. At best, he develops into Wembanyama's long term backup.
Top performance
Final grade: B
Up Next: Sandro Mamukelashvili
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