Marcus Spears Jr. is country down to his core. His southern dialect sees “mug” get thrown into every other sentence. When he’s not galloping down the court nailing threes, putting pressure on the rim and sending shots out of bounds, he’s either in a hunting blind or on the boat, fishing rod in hand. The outdoors is his sanctuary. But when he does step on the hardwood, “Jun’s a monster, bro,” his father, Marcus Spears Sr., says.
As the son of a former starting defensive end with the Dallas Cowboys and the No. 7 overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2027 in June has been building the foundation of his game for years, with a competitive edge that can only be built in a house full of former and future professional athletes.
“I don’t feel like I’m actually as naturally gifted at basketball as some people think,” Jun says. “Obviously, some stuff comes to me just because talent-wise. But I feel like I kind of had to work a little bit to get where I’m at.”
While his dad instilled physical and mental toughness, his mom Aiysha made sure he kept a strict regimen. On the court, he was going through two-a-day workouts in grade school with Team CP3. At home, the former Mystics forward constructed a makeshift rim out of a wire hanger, where he’d shoot hundreds of wads of paper a day. And in his downtime, his older and younger sisters helped instill the competitive fire that’s been on display this summer with Drive Nation. Who could hold a handstand the longest? Who could run up the stairs the fastest? Everything in the Spears household featured a competition or a goal.
“I just don’t want to lose. So I feel like I just do whatever it takes for us to not lose, whether it’s in the beginning of the game or at the end of the game. My pops is always on me about that, being consistent, playing hard the whole game, stuff like that,” Spears Jr. says. “So I just go out there and do whatever I’ve got to do for us not to lose.”
Jared ebanks 