WASHINGTON — One by one, President Barack Obama ticked through the names on the Spurs’ roster during Monday’s ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

He mentioned Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, of course. Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. He named Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli, lamenting that the latter no longer played for the president’s beloved Chicago Bulls.

Obama even brought up Matt Bonner, calling him “a sandwich blogger named 'Red Mamba.’”

Cory Joseph’s name never came up, and for good reason. In his first three mostly forgettable seasons with the Spurs, the backup point guard has been easy to miss.

“I felt coming into this year I had something to prove,” he said. “I still have something to prove.”

Thirty-six games into a make-or-break season for him, Joseph has shown he can be a solid NBA point guard.

Whether the free-agent-to-be still will be doing it in San Antonio at this time next season remains to be seen.

“I’m always going to feel like I deserve a job in the NBA,” said Joseph, averaging career highs in points (10.3) and assists (3.1) heading into Tuesday’s game at Washington. “I put in the work. I’m always going to compete to the best of my abilities. Whatever happens on that end, I leave to my agent.”

When the Spurs declined to extend Joseph’s rookie-scale contract in October, opening the door for him to become a restricted free agent this summer, it appeared he would not be back because the team had no need for him.

Now it looks like he might not be back because the team won’t be able to afford him.

With Parker and Mills missing chunks of the season with injuries, Joseph has been something of a savior for the Spurs’ backcourt.

The last time the Spurs played Washington, on Jan. 3, Joseph held his own against All-Star John Wall, going for 17 of his 19 points in the first half of a 101-92 win.

Another moment: With the Spurs teetering late in a comeback win over Phoenix on Friday, Joseph put his head down and bulldozed for six consecutive points.

“He always impressed me with the way he plays,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He is not blessed with the most talent in the world, but I don’t think there is anybody on the planet who gets more out of what he’s got.”

Still, until this season Joseph was a fringe NBA player. One reason Obama didn’t mention him Monday: Joseph totaled only eight minutes against Miami in last season’s Finals.

So when the Spurs declined to extend him in the fall, Joseph was hardly surprised.

“I knew I didn’t play much in my first few seasons,” said Joseph, a 23-year-old Texas-ex. “I didn’t even ask my agent about it (an extension). I just assumed they wouldn’t.”

Instead, Joseph put on his hard hat and went to work, determined to grow himself into an NBA player.

It was the approach Joseph took from the beginning, when the Spurs selected him 29th in the 2011 draft, 14 spots behind the more heralded Kawhi Leonard.

Devoid of playing time his first few seasons, Joseph occasionally requested to be demoted to the Spurs’ Development League club in Austin to get minutes.

For Joseph, much of the work involved in becoming an established NBA player was accomplished in solitude.

“There were times when I was in Austin, in the gym by myself, maybe with nobody to rebound for me,” Joseph said. “I would go to to the gym a lot — a lot — and just work out.”

The work seems poised to pay off for Joseph in a literal sense. He just might have to leave San Antonio to get paid.

The Spurs have $44.4 million committed to Parker after this season and another $7.1 million to Mills.

Joseph is probably due a raise from the $2.02 million he is earning this season, but it is hard to envision the Spurs paying a third point guard much beyond that.

For now, the Spurs will take whatever they can get from Joseph. With Parker and Mills easing back into the rotation, look for Popovich to seek creative ways to keep all three point guards in the mix.

The president might have forgotten Joseph, but the Spurs have not.

“He’s stepped up and really taken the opportunity and run with it,” Duncan said. “I’m really proud of him. He’s showed he can play in the league and really play well.”

jmcdonald

@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN