Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images Forms, Ideas, and Plato There was a story that the ancient Greek philosopher Plato liked to tell about a paradisaical island populated by an ideal and advanced society, that was swallowed up by the seas in a crescendo of quakes and eruptions. That account of an otherwise perfect society, laid low by some combination of hubris and natural disaster, was almost a footnote in his later dialogues of Timaeus and Critias, and yet something about it has captured and maintained the curiosity of the human race for nearly two and a half millennia. An almost innumerable number of works (in a variety of subjects) have been composed in that time, meditating on the Isle of Atlantis, as other tales and histories have moldered in neglect and passed from human memory. This is something that has always perplexed me as a student of history. Why Atlantis? Is it the vague brevity of the tale? The archaeological inability to verify it? The way that imagination can run wild in the absence of definitive answers? I can’t say that I expected to find an answer in a San Antonio Spurs game. Of the things that I might have possibly discovered, I can honestly say that would not have made the list. And yet, watching the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Indiana Pacers, I couldn’t help but think of Atlantis — not in its fall, but in its essence as a vision of potential. The Spurs, not unlike the citizens of that mythical city, are striving toward something extraordinary, something just out of reach. Victor Wembanyama is the central figure in this tale, a towering wonder whose talents seem almost too grand for this world. His 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks weren’t just numbers; they were evidence of a player who could one day redefine the game. Back on his native soil at last, he was everywhere: boldly altering shots, cutting through defenders, and commanding the offense with the composure of a veteran. For stretches of the game, he seemed to embody basketball’s ideal form: a 7’4” prodigy with the vision of a guard, the touch of a shooter, and the instincts of a seasoned superstar. And that brilliance wasn’t just in his stat line, it was in his decisions. Early in the game, he stretched the defense with his outside shot. When the Pacers adjusted, he shifted, attacking the rim with a ferocity that left them scrambling, taking advantage of mismatches and openings, and showcasing a swiftly developing ability to shift his approach based on the flow of the game. When Wembanyama’s in the zone like that, it doesn’t take much for the Spurs to eke out a win, even at their most hampered, as has been the case much of the season. Coming into the contest I expected that we might see something of the sort out of Wemby, but it was his teammates playing in near-perfect attunement that gave fans and foes alike a vision of the future, as the entirety of the roster gave one of their most complete efforts of the season. I frequently talk about +/- being a fiddly statistic at best, but it’s telling that every Spurs player who saw the court finished the game in the positive, with eight in the double-digits. You’d be hard-pressed to ask for a better game from a team that shot 50% from three, 60% from the floor, and 100% from the free throw line, all while exorcising the demons of recent 3rd quarters with 45 points in that frame, as they held their typically high scoring opponents (11th in scoring, 11th in offensive rating) to just 23. It was not the platonic idea of basketball — to witness that I recommend you give this video a watch for the quadrillionth time — but it was the platonic ideal of basketball for this roster, as they blanketed the perimeter with lengthy, motivated bodies, and hammered the rim like Billy Hoyle gambling his girlfriend’s money. Ten different Spurs made a three-pointer, and the team tallied 43 assists, just six shy of the team record (8 shy counting the playoffs). The Spurs won the game going away, but the real victory was in how they played together. Devin Vassell’s buttery-smooth scoring, Jeremy Sochan’s sorely missed versatility, and Keldon Johnson’s relentless energy seamlessly complemented Wembanyama’s brilliance. It was a team win, a collective step toward transcendent basketball. The Spurs are learning to navigate their path toward greatness, their teamwork the foundation of something larger—something that, if nurtured, could one day resemble the most euphoric vision of an NBA team. Still, there’s no telling what version of this team will take the court on Saturday. And I suppose that’s the point. Basketball, like life, resists perfection. Progress isn’t guaranteed. It requires humility, self-awareness, and the willingness to adapt. The Spurs will face setbacks, and there will be nights when the weight of their potential feels more like a burden than a gift. Yet in their striving, they offer us something even more compelling than perfection: the chance to witness a vision take shape. Over the last 100 years, a fragile consensus has gained momentum. The sense that Plato’s story of Atlantis was a fabrication, an allegorical tale that conflicts with both archaeological and geological record, has taken hold. In the context of his philosophical interests, this makes sense, as the very concept of the ‘platonic ideal’ stems from his theory that our perception and understanding of forms and ideas fall short of a reality we cannot comprehend, much less maintain — that the ideal forms of things are more perfect than the things themselves. Watching this Spurs team, I find it hard not to agree. And yet, it’s Atlantis we remember. In our collective minds, it exists out there, a primordial utopia buried somewhere beneath the waters. It’s been the obsession of philosophers, writers, explorers, and even Nazis. I guess sometimes we pay more attention to the story than the moral — that we get lost in the details and lose the thread. Maybe we just can’t help ourselves. The Spurs were perfect yesterday. Maybe we can just leave it at that. Takeaways It was nice to see Devin Vassell continuing his upward trajectory, as he’s starting to look like the player he was last season before his injury. Over the last five games he’s averaging 22 points on 52/52/77 shooting. Yes, you read that correctly: his field-goal percentage and 3pt percentage are nearly identical. That’s not just hot, that’s warmer than Hitler’s hind-parts. If he can keep building on this, or even just keep it up, I imagine all the caterwauling of the early season about his contract will diminish. one more moment for Dev's buzzer beater pic.twitter.com/geIqxlfkwi— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2025 It was also great to see Jeremy Sochan looking both healthy and aggressive in this one too, as his rebounding and defense have been critical for the Spurs in the absence of a dependable bench big (as well as during Wemby’s three-point forays). Back injuries have a nasty way of lingering and/or cropping up at random points, so here’s to hoping he can stay healthy both in the short and long term. Regardless of how you feel about his shooting deficits, there’s no doubt that this is a different team attitude-wise with him on the court and that’s equally critical. What a game back for @JeremySochan! 13 PTS I 9 REB I 3 AST pic.twitter.com/seANSazzTP— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2025 That being said, it wasn’t just Sochan’s cutting and off-ball brilliance that was responsible for the silky ball movement, as Mitch Johnson appeared to limit both Zack Collins and Charles Bassey in favor of the beloved (and sharp-passing) Sandro Mamukelashvili, who did just about everything the Spurs needed in his limited time on the court, per usual. It’ll be interesting to see if this is the start of a new trend, or simply the result of timely gut instinct on Johnson’s part, but it certainly looked like the Spurs could use more of it. MAMUUUUU pic.twitter.com/GccIA2GhsS— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2025 Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening: Voyage to Atlantis by The Isley Brothers