Carter Bryant emerges as a surprise veteran to Tarris Reed Jr., despite being younger

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Carter Bryant emerges as a surprise veteran to Tarris Reed Jr., despite being younger originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Carter Bryant will be entering his second season in the NBA in the 2026-27 campaign. As one of the youngest players on the roster, many see him as a fresh face, including the incoming rookies like Tarris Reed Jr.

After playing three years between Michigan and UConn, Reed is now in the NBA as a San Antonio Spurs player. Since he is still a rookie, he got to the league later than Bryant, who has become some kind of veteran to Reed despite being a younger player.

Carter Bryant is enjoying a new veteran-like role with the Spurs​

During his rookie season, Bryant had plenty of impressive moments, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He had some shaky moments, which head coach Mitch Johnson treated as big-time lessons.

Bryant even played some crucial minutes in the run to the NBA Finals, as he was impressive in his minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks. With that experience, he can be a mentor to some of the rookies who arrived after him.

MORE: The free agency tracker for the Spurs in the 2026 offseason

Reed, Jayden Quaintance, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, and Maliq Brown can all benefit from learning from Bryant. While three out of the four rookies are older than Bryant, they also realize that his experience will matter for them, especially Reed.

"He's young. It's crazy. I'm older than this dude, and he's been in the league a year. Just talking to him about little tricks he can give me playing basketball at this level... It's good having young guys being able to lead and step up," Reed said ahead of the Spurs' Summer League campaign.

The Spurs are a young team, so seeing a player like Bryant step into a leadership role this early is a big deal. It further proves that the Spurs are doing something right despite their loss in the NBA Finals.

More NBA news:​

• The Spurs' plan with Julian Champagnie is working out
• San Antonio's biggest free agency targets around Victor Wembanyama
• Jayden Quaintance tried to get the legendary #21 on the Spurs
• The Spurs might have landed one of the biggest steals of the 2026 NBA Draft
• Aday Mara is reportedly ready to embrace the Victor Wembanyama stopper role

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