SAN ANTONIO — On Tuesday night, Bryn Forbes scored 24 points and snagged 11 rebounds in the blowout win against the Phoenix Suns.
He has been one of the biggest surprises of the season thus far for the organization and he actually surprised himself with that kind of performance.
"That's not my first career double-double in the NBA. That's my first career double-double ever—elementary school up until now. That was pretty big for me," Forbes said.
Forbes accomplishing a first is no surprise for anyone that follows the NBA and understands the kind of impact Gregg Popovich can have on players.
Entering the season, the undrafted talent played an average of 19 minutes in 2017-2018. He averaged roughly seven points per game shooting 39 percent from deep.
It was not a given San Antonio was going to bring him back, but even with a guard-heavy roster after drafting Lonnie Walker IV, Forbes signed a two-year deal worth $6 million.
"I'm still waiting for him to holdout and say he's not going to play another game until we change his contract--we're not going to do that," Popovich said with a laugh. "We're really proud of his development and confidence he's built and he's become an integral part of the group for sure."
Forbes has improved in almost every statistical category of note. His points per game has increased by five and his 3-point percentage is now at 43 percent.
Forbes was never supposed to play this much entering the year, but because of injuries to Dejounte Murray and Derrick White in the preseason, he has stepped up in a major way.