Carter Bryant’s journey always led here.
From crawling onto the court at Martin Luther King High as a toddler, while his dad trained some of the Southern California region’s brightest stars – names like Kawhi Leonard and Tony Snell – to working so hard his parents would take his shoes, only for him to keep going barefoot, he was always meant for this stage in Brooklyn, clad in a royal maroon suit.
A life of work led to this moment. On Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs selected the 19-year-old Riverside native with the 14th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Arizona.
Bryant’s basketball roots run deep in the region and beyond. His grandfather on his mother’s side, Mike “Doc” Torres, is a USA Deaf Basketball Hall of Famer. His father, D’Cean, a Long Beach State alum, played his AAU ball with and against names like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. D’Cean’s brother, Travon, was a 2000 McDonald’s All-American before heading to Missouri and later playing professionally in Europe. When Travon returned home, he started a coaching career, personally training players such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
That lineage fueled Carter’s rise. He spent the first three years of high school playing under his father at Fountain Valley and Sage Hill. His recruiting stock and national profile skyrocketed after his junior season at Sage Hill, where he averaged 22.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.9 blocked shots and 1.6 steals per game.
Riverside native Carter Bryant, center, makes his way to the stage after being selected 14th by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night in New York. Bryant starred at Corona's Centennial High as a senior. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)His stock continued to rise after transferring to powerhouse Corona Centennial for his senior season, where he was named a 2024 McDonald’s All-American. In 2024, Jared McCain became the first player in Centennial history selected in the first round of the NBA draft when the Philadelphia 76ers took him No. 16 overall out of Duke.
Now, just a year later – after a year at Arizona, where Bryant averaged 6.5 points per game off the bench for a Wildcats team that made the Big 12 Tournament championship game and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, Bryant is the second Centennial standout to hear his name called.
Listed at 6-foot-6½ without shoes and 214 pounds with a near 7-foot wingspan, Bryant projects – at least initially – as a prototypical “3-and-D” wing in the NBA. His size allows for defensive versatility and switching, and he shot 37% from 3-point range in college, which the Spurs hope translates to the NBA.
San Antonio is in the midst of a transition. The franchise is heading into a new era with Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich stepping down after 29 years and five championships. Now, Mitch Johnson takes the reins of the storied franchise as its new head coach. At his disposal are the past two NBA Rookies of the Year Victor Wembanyama (2023-24), Stephon Castle (2024-25), former All-NBA guard De’Aaron Fox – acquired at midseason from Sacramento – and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, Dylan Harper out of Rutgers.
More to come on this story.
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