2025-26 Season

LINDY WATERS III

San Antonio Spurs | Forward | 6-5

2025-26 Season

LINDY WATERS III

San Antonio Spurs | Forward | 6-5 | Yr 4

2.4 PPG

0.7 RPG

0.5 APG

7.2 MPG

-1.8 Impact

III produces at an below average rate for a 7-minute workload. Defensive impact (-1.5/game) is a concern.

NET IMPACT BREAKDOWN

Every stat, every credit, every cost — per game average

-1.8

Scoring +1.2

Points 2.4 PPG × +1.00 = +2.4

Missed 2PT 0.1/g × -0.78 = -0.1

Missed 3PT 1.3/g × -0.87 = -1.1

Missed FT 0.0/g × -1.00 = -0.0

Creation +0.5

Assists 0.5/g × +0.50 = +0.2

Off. Rebounds 0.2/g × +1.26 = +0.3

Turnovers -0.4

Turnovers 0.2/g × -1.95 = -0.4

Defense -1.5

Steals 0.1/g × +2.30 = +0.2

Blocks 0.0/g × +0.90 = +0.0

Def. Rebounds 0.5/g × +0.30 = +0.2

Fouls Committed 2.5/g × -0.75 = -1.9

Hustle & Effort +0.8

Contested Shots 0.7/g × +0.20 = +0.1

Deflections 0.3/g × +0.65 = +0.2

Charges Drawn 0.1/g × +2.70 = +0.3

Loose Balls 0.1/g × +0.60 = +0.1

Screen Assists 0.3/g × +0.30 = +0.1

Raw Impact +0.6

Baseline (game-average expected) −2.4

Net Impact

-1.8

23th pctl vs Forwards

About this model: Net Impact can't measure floor spacing, help defense rotations, or playmaking gravity — so wings and guards are slightly undervalued vs bigs. How Net Impact works

TEAM COMPARISON

Impact

#11

Offense

#13

Hustle

#12

Defense

of 13 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)

Victor Wembanyama +14.3 Luke Kornet +5.7 Keldon Johnson +1.3 De'Aaron Fox +1.3 Kelly Olynyk +0.7 Stephon Castle +0.1 Dylan Harper 0.0 Lindy Waters III -0.8 Jeremy Sochan -1.0 Julian Champagnie -1.7 Harrison Barnes -2.3 Devin Vassell -2.6 Carter Bryant -2.7

SKILL DNA

Percentile rank vs 227 Forwards with 10+ games

Scoring 8th

3.9 PPG

Efficiency 90th

63.8% TS

Playmaking 11th

0.8 APG

Rebounding 0th

1.0 RPG

Rim Protection 1th

0.07/min

Hustle 15th

0.08/min

Shot Creation 50th

0% pullup

TO Discipline 98th

0.02/min

THE SEASON SO FAR

Lindy Waters III spent the opening stretch of the 2025-26 season fighting for NBA survival, bouncing wildly between brief flashes of perimeter utility and total rotational invisibility. When his minutes went poorly, the drop-off was incredibly steep. Look at his 11/10 vs CHI outing; despite hitting a three-pointer, his impact score plummeted to -3.3 because horrific defensive lapses on back-door cuts gifted Chicago easy layups. Yet, when Waters stopped forcing the issue, he provided the exact two-way spark his team needed. During a 12/19 vs ATL matchup, he logged 17 minutes and posted a stellar +4.5 impact score. He scored just 8 points, but his value skyrocketed because he relentlessly relocated for open looks on broken plays and generated crucial extra possessions (+2.1 hustle). He replicated that winning formula on 01/02 vs IND, where flawless execution as a 3-and-D specialist yielded a massive +5.1 impact score despite modest box-score production.

IMPACT TIMELINE

Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.

PATTERNS

Struggling. III has posted negative impact in 77% of games this season. The production rarely outweighs the cost.

Streaky shooter — only cracks 45% from the field in 40% of games. Efficiency is all over the place night-to-night.

Flat trajectory all season — first-half impact -1.1, second-half -2.4. No major shifts, which fits with the overall steadiness.

In a rough stretch — 5 straight games with negative impact. Longest cold streak this season: 10 games.

MATCHUP HISTORY

Based on 63 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.