"The Iceman" And "The Admiral" Stand Tall In Spurs' Past And
Future
The San Antonio Spurs began as an original entry in the American
Basketball Association. Called the Dallas Chaparrals, the franchise
survived the turmoil of the ABA era and was rewarded with
admittance to the NBA when the upstart league merged with the
NBA.
The franchise has fielded some fine teams over the years. In the
late 1970s and early 1980s the team featured George "the Iceman"
Gervin and won the Midwest Division five out of six years. In the
late 1980s the addition of David Robinson turned the club back into
a contender. And when Tim Duncan arrived, he and Robinson brought a
championship home to San Antonio in 1999.
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1967-69: In The Beginning
The Dallas Chaparrals were established in 1967, one of 11 teams
to take the floor for the ABA that year. Former St. Louis Hawks
star Cliff Hagan was persuaded to end his one-year retirement and
join the club as a player-coach. The Chaps' stars included forward
Cincinnatus "Cincy" Powell, center John Beasley, and guard Bob
Verga. Maurice McHartley was the first player off the bench.
With each team in the new league an unknown quantity, the ABA
was wide open, and Dallas found itself in a tight race with the New
Orleans Buccaneers and the Denver Rockets for the top spot in the
Western Division. The 36-year-old Hagan had a good year, scoring
18.2 points per game. Beasley, the 6-foot-9 rookie, probably had
the best season of his seven-year ABA career, averaging 19.7 points
while collecting 12.8 rebounds per game. Powell scored 18.3 points
per game, Verga averaged 23.7 points in 31 contests before being
called to military service, and McHartley tallied another 15.3
points per contest.
Dallas finished its inaugural season with a 46-32 record and in
second place, two games behind New Orleans and two games ahead of
Denver. The Chaparrals swept the Houston Mavericks in the first
round of the playoffs, then lost in the second round to New
Orleans, which went on to lose to the Pittsburgh Pipers in the
first ABA Finals.
The second-year Dallas Chaparrals slipped a bit in the 1968-69
season despite the addition of rookie guard Ron Boone. Boone
averaged 18.9 points in his freshman campaign, and Powell and
Beasley each had productive years. But Hagan's contribution
slipped, and he appeared in only 35 games.
The Chaps fell to fourth place in the Western Division with a
41-37 record, resulting in a first-round playoff rematch with New
Orleans. After falling behind the Buccaneers, three games to one,
Dallas bounced back with convincing wins in Games 5 and 6. However,
the Chaps fell short by losing Game 7, 101-95.
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1969-73: A Change Of Names, A Change Of Cities
After the 1968-69 season Hagan gave up playing and moved to the
bench full-time. The 1969-70 team added a new center, Manny Leaks,
who had played for the Kentucky Colonels and the New York Nets
before joining the Chaparrals. Leaks, who was only 6-foot-8, turned
in a stellar performance, averaging 18.8 points and 12.5 rebounds,
while Powell chipped in 20.1 points per game.
Hagan's bid to give up playing and concentrate solely on his
coaching duties backfired. With the team sporting a 22-21 record,
he was fired. His replacement, Max Williams, piloted the team to a
45-39 record and a second-place finish in the Western Division.
Dallas lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles
Stars; however, the final three games of the series were
down-to-the-wire barn burners. With the Chaparrals up, two games to
one, the Stars claimed Game 4, 144-138, then came back two nights
later to win Game 5, 146-139. The Stars then closed out the series
in Game 6, winning 124-123.
For the 1970-71 season the Dallas Chaparrals became the Texas
Chaparrals, but they continued to play in Dallas. It was not a good
year on the court for the Chaps. Powell was gone, and the club
cycled through 18 players and two coaches during the campaign.
Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-3 guard who came over from the Utah Stars
during the season, provided much of the scoring, averaging 23.6
points. The franchise tumbled to its first losing season, at 30-54,
and was then swept out of the playoffs by the Stars.
The Chaps (whose official name was once again the Dallas
Chaparrals) hired Tom Nissalke as their head coach for the 1971-72
season, and he somehow managed to bring a team that featured names
like Simmie Hill and Goo Kennedy to near respectability. A 41-41
finish was good enough to win Nissalke the league's Coach of the
Year Award. For the second straight year the Chaparrals were swept
by the Utah Stars in the first round of the playoffs, but it was a
much better series. In the previous season Utah had won by an
average of more than 18 points per game. In 1972 the margin was
only six points per contest.
Nissalke jumped to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics for the 1972-73
season. The team he left behind was in shambles. Neither his
successor, Babe McCarthy, nor McCarthy's late-season replacement,
Dave Brown, could do much with the hapless team, which finished out
of the playoffs at 28-56. To make matters worse, the franchise was
struggling to attract fans, and when it was announced late in the
season that a group from New Jersey would purchase the club, the
last few shreds of local interest disappeared. To add insult to
injury, the New Jersey deal fell through.
The Dallas Chaparrals' swan song came on March 26, 1973. Playing
one last time at the Dallas Convention Center, the Chaparrals eked
out a 112-110 victory over the Carolina Cougars, the ABA's best
team that year. The paid attendance was reported to be 134.
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1973: Franchise Relocates To San Antonio
The franchise was rescued from oblivion by a group of San
Antonio businessmen led by John Schaefer, B. J. "Red" McCombs, Art
Burdick, and Angelo Drossos. The group moved the club to San
Antonio and rechristened it the Spurs. They also brought back
Nissalke, whose NBA sojourn had been a disaster-he'd lasted barely
half a season with Seattle, posting a 13-32 record with the
SuperSonics before losing his job.
The franchise played its first game in San Antonio on October
10, 1973, before 5,879 fans at the HemisFair Arena. The Spurs faced
the San Diego Conquistadors and came out on the losing end of a
126-101 contest. The team got off to a slow start, posting a 1-6
record. Fan interest was minimal; only 1,799 people showed up for
the Spurs' first win, on October 18.
The situation began to change in November. The struggling
Virginia Squires franchise was selling off players, and the Spurs
purchased 6-foot-11 Swen Nater for $300,000. On November 28 San
Antonio played before a sellout crowd of 10,146 and beat the
Kentucky Colonels, to improve to 13-12. Nater, who had been Bill
Walton's backup at UCLA, played in the ABA All-Star Game, in which
he racked up 29 points and 22 rebounds.
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1973-76: "The Iceman" Arrives
San Antonio made a second big move at the end of January, buying
the rights to 21-year-old George Gervin from Virginia. Gervin
joined the team in mid-February and averaged 19.4 points in 26
contests with the Spurs. The club won 12 of its final 18 games to
claim third place in the Western Division with a 45-39 record.
Paired with the Indiana Pacers in the first round of postseason
play, the Spurs lost in seven games.
The 1974-75 Spurs boasted a solid starting five. In addition to
Gervin and Nater, the Spurs had third-year guard James "Snake"
Silas and sixth-year forward Rich Jones, both of whom averaged 19.3
points. The team also added veteran Donnie Freeman, who had played
for the Dallas Chaparrals a few seasons earlier. He contributed
15.5 points per game.
Despite the team's 17-10 start, Nissalke was fired in December,
and Bob Bass took over as coach. On January 28 San Antonio hosted
the ABA All-Star Game before 10,449 spectators. Three Spurs played
for the West-Gervin, Nater, and Silas. Gervin scored 23 points and
Silas canned 21 to lead the West, but the East prevailed,
151-124.
San Antonio finished in second place in the Western Division
with a 51-33 mark. Gervin, who was following up a solid rookie
season with a very productive sophomore campaign, gave San Antonio
fans a taste of what they would see in the coming years. On
February 5 he collected 51 points against the Memphis Sounds. In
the playoffs against Indiana, Coach Bass moved Gervin from forward
to the shooting guard position, and he caught fire. In the final
three games of the series he averaged 35.0 points. But it wasn't
enough for the Spurs, who lost the series, four games to two.
The Spurs made some major changes in the offseason. In June the
team traded Nater to the New York Nets for forward Larry Kenon.
Three months later San Antonio sent four Spurs to New York in
exchange for 6-foot-11 center Billy Paultz.
When the 1975-76 ABA season commenced, the league was down to
seven teams playing in a single division. San Antonio's offseason
moves paid off. Nater was slowed by a knee injury and was not a big
contributor for the Nets. Paultz and Kenon, on the other hand,
combined for 35.2 points and 21.5 rebounds per game. San Antonio
placed four players-Gervin, Silas, Paultz, and Kenon-in the ABA's
midseason All-Star Game. After taking seven of eight games down the
stretch, the Spurs wound up in third place with a 50-34 record.
San Antonio faced Julius Erving and the New York Nets in the
first round of the playoffs. The Spurs' chances were dealt a
serious blow in Game 1 after Silas, the team's leading scorer at
23.8 points per game, broke his ankle. The club still managed to
push the Nets to the limit before bowing out in Game 7, 121-114.
The Nets went on to claim the ABA's ninth and final
championship.
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1976-77: Spurs Join The NBA
On June 17, 1976, the San Antonio Spurs, the New York Nets, the
Denver Nuggets, and the Indiana Pacers all gained admittance to the
NBA as the ABA finally gave up the ghost. San Antonio brought in
Doug Moe to assume the coaching duties but planned to take the
floor with basically the same team. Silas, who was coming off his
ankle injury, hurt his knee in the preseason and was sidelined for
the Spurs' first 60 games. His backup, George Karl (who would go on
to coach the fine Seattle teams of the early 1990s), was also out
of action after undergoing knee surgery. The starting point guard
duties fell to Mike Gale, who in the previous season had averaged
only 6.8 points while coming off the bench.
The Spurs' NBA premiere took place on October 22, 1976, against
the Philadelphia 76ers, who had come away from the NBA-ABA merger
with Julius Erving. Playing before 17,196 Sixers fans, the Spurs
notched a 121-118 win. After a 2-6 start, San Antonio reeled off
six straight victories in November. In December the Spurs purloined
a game from the Kansas City Kings as forward Larry Kenon registered
11 steals to set an NBA record. By February the club was 10 games
above .500.
San Antonio faltered as the year wound down, losing five of six
games to end the regular season. The Boston Celtics then swept San
Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. Still, the Spurs had
put together a good showing in their first trip through the NBA. At
44-38, the club posted the sixth-best record in the league. Gervin
finished ninth in the league in scoring with 23.1 points per game,
and he shot a phenomenal .544 from the field, the second-best mark
in NBA history for a guard. The Spurs were the NBA's top-scoring
team, averaging 115.0 points. But the club also had the league's
most porous defense, allowing 114.4 points per contest.
Gervin, Kenon, and Paultz led the way in the 1977-78 season.
Injuries sidelined guards Gale, Karl, and Silas early in the year,
and the club posted back-to-back 8-7 records in November and
December. By January the team was healthy. From the beginning of
the new year to the end of March, San Antonio piled up wins, going
30-9 to clinch the Central Division title.
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1977-79: "The Iceman" Duels With "Skywalker"
The final day of the season featured the incredible climax to a
season-long duel between Gervin and the Denver Nuggets' David
Thompson for the league's scoring title. On Sunday, April 9, the
Nuggets played an afternoon game against Detroit. The 6-foot-4
Thompson blistered the Pistons for 73 points in the Nuggets'
139-137 win. Thompson's point total was the third highest in league
history. Only Wilt Chamberlain, with games of 100 in 1962 and 78 in
1961, had ever scored more points in a single contest.
Gervin and the Spurs played that same night in New Orleans
against the Jazz. The Iceman needed 58 points to claim the title.
He accumulated 20 of the Spurs' 33 points in the first period. In
the second Gervin added 33 to set an NBA single-period record. With
more than 10 minutes remaining in the third period, Gervin sank a
10-foot jump shot to reach 59 points and take the title. Coach Moe
took Gervin out of the game to a standing ovation. The Iceman
returned later to add 4 more points and finish with 63, on 23-of-49
shooting from the field.
Gervin edged Thompson by the thinnest of margins for the scoring
title. For the season, Gervin averaged 27.22 points to Thompson's
27.15.
The Spurs entered the 1978 postseason with a 52-30 record and
were favored to beat the Washington Bullets in the first round of
the playoffs. But the surprising Bullets, who had finished eight
games behind the Spurs in the Central Division, ousted San Antonio
in a hard-fought six-game series. Gervin continued his scoring
onslaught in the postseason, averaging 33.2 points. In Game 2 he
set a franchise playoff record with 46 points.
The Spurs set the tone for the 1978-79 season on opening day,
when the club scored 153 points and beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 42.
San Antonio would go on to lead the league in scoring with an
average of 119.3 points. The next closest team was the Bullets, who
trailed the Spurs by 4.4 points per contest. The Spurs also paced
the league in point differential, beating opposing clubs by an
average of 5.2 points.
The high-scoring Spurs were led once again by Gervin (29.6 ppg),
who became the first guard in NBA history to win back-to-back
scoring titles. The team also received a big boost from James
Silas, who returned to the starting lineup after a two-year absence
due to knee surgery. The Spurs were 14-14 when Silas joined Gervin
in the Spurs' starting backcourt. From that point on the team went
34-20. A 117-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on the final day
of the season gave the Spurs a second straight Central Division
crown with a 48-34 record, one game ahead of the Houston
Rockets.
The Spurs squared off against the Philadelphia 76ers in the
Eastern Conference Semifinals and jumped out to a two-games-to-none
lead in the best-of-seven series. The 76ers came back to knot the
series at three games apiece. However, on May 2 San Antonio
returned home and clipped the Sixers by a three-point margin.
The Spurs moved on to face the Washington Bullets in the Eastern
Conference Finals. After posting victories in Games 1, 3, and 4,
San Antonio was in the driver's seat with a three-games-to-one
series lead. But the Bullets squeezed out close victories in each
of the final three games, winning by scores of 107-103, 108-100,
and 107-105, respectively, to take the series and advance to the
championship round against the Seattle SuperSonics. Gervin averaged
28.6 points in the postseason to lead all playoff participants.
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1979-80: Gervin Stays Hot
After two years at the top of the Central Division, the 1979-80
season was a disappointment for San Antonio, although Kenon and
Silas had good years. In January the Spurs sent Billy Paultz to
Houston for John Shumate, who chipped in 14.7 points and 7.9
rebounds per game in his 27 contests for the Spurs. Gervin,
meanwhile, was outstanding. He won his third straight scoring title
by averaging 33.1 points per game, leading the league in field
goals made and attempted. His shooting percentage was a blazing
.528, and he also earned the MVP Award at the 1980 NBA All-Star
Game after a 34-point, 10-rebound performance.
Despite Gervin's scoring outbursts, San Antonio hovered around
the .500 mark all season. The team was hampered by a weak defense,
which yielded a whopping 119.7 points per game. (Denver, the
second-poorest defensive club, surrendered 112.7 points per game.)
Head Coach Doug Moe paid for the team's mediocre performance with
his job. Moe was fired on March 1 and replaced by Bob Bass. San
Antonio finished the season with a 41-41 record and was eliminated
in the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets.
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1980-81: Key Moves In Store-New Players And A New Division
As a result of that lackluster showing, the Spurs made a couple
of key moves before the 1980-81 season. Larry Kenon was shipped to
the Chicago Bulls, Dave Corzine came over from the Washington
Bullets, George Johnson was picked up as a free agent, and Reggie
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 forward from the University of Tennessee, was
selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. In addition, the
franchise brought in Stan Albeck as its new head coach. Meanwhile,
the Spurs jumped over to the Midwest Division of the Western
Conference, joining Houston, Kansas City, Denver, Utah, and the
expansion Dallas Mavericks.
All the pieces quickly fell into place. San Antonio jumped out
to a 10-2 start. In late December a San Antonio tradition was born
when the club handed out 10,000 free posters that featured the
Spurs' front line as the "Bruise Brothers." The crew of George
Johnson, Dave Corzine, Kevin Restani, Paul Griffin, Mark Olberding,
and Reggie Johnson deserved the moniker. The 1980-81 team led the
NBA in rebounds and blocked shots, and was third in personal fouls.
George Johnson led the league in blocked shots with 3.39 per
game.
San Antonio breezed to its third division title in four years,
with a 52-30 record. Kansas City and Houston tied for second, a
distant 12 games back. But the Spurs were unable to get by the
Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. Houston took three
games from San Antonio at the HemisFair Arena, including the
deciding Game 7, which Houston won by a 105-100 tally.
An era of sorts came to an end the following offseason when the
Spurs traded James Silas to Cleveland. Silas was the last of the
remaining Spurs to have played with the old Dallas Chaparrals. The
emergence of Johnny Moore made the trade possible. Moore, a
second-year point guard, took over the starting spot and went on to
lead the league in assists with 9.6 per game. He wasn't the only
Spurs league leader during the 1981-82 campaign. After finishing
third in scoring the season before, Gervin regained the top spot by
averaging 32.3 points per game.
Halfway through the season the Spurs made an important
acquisition-they traded Ron Brewer and George Johnson to Cleveland
for the high-scoring, 6-foot-7 Mike Mitchell. In his first season
with the Spurs, Mitchell averaged 21.0 points.
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1981-83: Spurs Make A Point To Score Often
San Antonio's success was built on its prolific offense. The
1981-82 season featured one game with the second-highest point
total in NBA history. In a triple-overtime contest against
Milwaukee at the HemisFair Arena, the Spurs pulled away with a
171-166 win, thanks to a 50-point performance from Gervin. San
Antonio finished the year ranked second in the NBA in scoring at
113.1 points per game, but that wasn't even close to league-leading
Denver, which averaged an astonishing 126.5 points.
The Spurs claimed a second straight Midwest Division title in
1981-82, finishing two games ahead of Denver. Matched up against
Seattle in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Spurs split the
first two games with the SuperSonics, then won three straight close
games to take the series. That earned the team a shot at the Lakers
in the Western Conference Finals, but Los Angeles swept the Spurs
on its way to an NBA Championship.
In the offseason the Spurs engineered a swap with the Bulls that
sent Mark Olberding and Dave Corzine to Chicago in return for
11-year veteran Artis Gilmore. The 7-foot-2, 33-year-old Gilmore
fit right in, powering San Antonio to a franchise-record 53 wins.
The team did it with solid, all-around play. The Spurs were second
in the league in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and assists.
Gilmore led the league in field-goal percentage at .626; Johnny
Moore was second in assists with 9.8 per game; and Gervin finished
fourth in scoring at 26.5 points per game.
The Spurs concluded the regular season with an eight-game lead
over the Denver Nuggets. The two teams squared off in the playoffs
and proceeded to light up the scoreboard in one of the most
explosive playoff series ever. San Antonio took the first game,
152-133, as the two teams set a single-game postseason record for
total points. The Spurs won Game 2 by 17 points, then took a
commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series with a 127-126
overtime win. After losing Game 4, San Antonio sent Denver packing
with a 145-105 rout in Game 5. For the five-game series the Spurs
averaged 132.8 points to Denver's 119.4.
The next round saw a rematch of the previous season's
Lakers-Spurs series. Swept in 1982, the Spurs put on a much better
showing in 1983, taking the Lakers to six games before bowing out
in a one-point loss in Game 6.
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1983-84: Success No More In 1983-84
A division leader in five of the previous six seasons, San
Antonio saw the bottom drop out during the 1983-84 campaign. The
problems started in the offseason when Stan Albeck left to take a
head coaching job with the New Jersey Nets. Morris McHone was hired
as his replacement. By the end of November the team was 6-12. On
December 17 the Spurs lost to the Atlanta Hawks, and Gervin was
held to only 8 points, breaking a string of 407 straight games in
which he had scored in double figures.
McHone was gone before the new year, and General Manager Bob
Bass stepped in and tried to restore order. He didn't have much
luck. Moore and Gilmore spent large parts of the second half of the
season on the injured list, and the Spurs lost 14 of 18 games
following the All-Star break. Despite a flurry of five wins in
seven games to end the season, San Antonio finished out of the
playoffs with a 37-45 record.
There were a couple of bright spots in an otherwise lackluster
season. John Lucas, who joined the Spurs from the Continental
Basketball Association in December, finished fourth in the NBA with
10.7 assists per game. During the final contest of the season he
set an NBA record with 14 assists in a quarter and a team record
with 24 assists in a game. (Nonetheless, the Spurs lost to the
Nuggets, 157-154.) Gilmore led the league in field-goal percentage
(.631) for the second consecutive year. Moore finished fifth in the
NBA in assists, right behind Lucas with 9.6 per game. And in
February the Spurs retired the jersey of James Silas.
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1984-85: Losses Shrink With Cotton
Cotton Fitzsimmons was hired away from Kansas City in the
offseason and was given the task of rebuilding the Spurs. Six games
into the 1984-85 season he looked like a Coach of the Year
candidate, having piloted the Spurs to a 5-1 record. But the team
stumbled through a seven-game losing streak and struggled to play
.500 basketball the rest of the way. San Antonio didn't put
together a winning month until January, when the team went 8-5.
That month was highlighted by a 139-94 win in which Moore missed a
quadruple-double by a single steal; for the night his line read 26
points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, and 9 steals.
San Antonio finished the season with a 41-41 record, tied for
fourth in the Midwest Division with Utah. The Spurs almost
surprised the first-place Nuggets in the opening round of the
playoffs, taking the series to the limit before losing in Game 5 by
27 points.
1985-87: A Four-Year Drought Begins
The next season was the first of four very lean years for the
Spurs. Shortly before the start of the 1985-86 campaign the team
made a surprising trade by sending Gervin to Chicago for David
Greenwood. Despite the loss of "the Iceman," the team played well
through December and stood at 19-13 two months into the season. But
on December 26 Moore was hospitalized with desert fever. The rare
disease not only kept him out for the year, it also ended his
career.
San Antonio bumbled through the rest of the season, losing 10 of
16 games in January, 12 of 13 from early February to early March,
and 13 of 16 overall in March. A 35-47 record was the team's worst
showing since relocating to San Antonio from Dallas.
Not to be overlooked in the midst of the Spurs' mediocre
performance was the excellent season of second-year player Alvin
Robertson. He earned a handful of awards, including NBA Defensive
Player of the Year and NBA Most Improved Player, and he represented
the Spurs at the NBA All-Star Game. Robertson recorded 301 steals
to set a new league record, and on February 18 he became only the
second player in NBA history to chalk up a quadruple-double with 20
points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals.
Coach Fitzsimmons was fired after the 1985-86 season, and Bob
Weiss was handed the reins. Weiss had even less luck with the
1986-87 Spurs as the team shuffled through 17 players looking for a
winning combination. Nothing worked. The Spurs finished in last
place in the Midwest Division with a 28-54 record, 27 games behind
the Utah Jazz. Robertson repeated as the NBA's steals leader and
Defensive Player of the Year.
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1987-89: San Antonio Plans For The Future
On May 17, 1987, the Spurs won the NBA Draft Lottery. Exercising
the No. 1 pick six weeks later at the NBA Draft, the team made a
major commitment to its future by selecting 7-foot center David
Robinson. But that future was two years away. After signing a
contract with the Spurs on November 6, 1987, the Naval Academy
graduate headed off to fulfill his two-year commitment to the
Navy.
The 1987-88 campaign was a struggle for the Spurs, though the
team played well in December, posting an 8-4 record to end a string
of 12 straight losing months. On December 5 the franchise retired
George Gervin's jersey. There weren't too many other highlights for
the undermanned San Antonio franchise this season. The team
finished the year with a 31-51 record and was swept in the first
round of the playoffs by the Lakers.
There was even less to cheer about during the 1988-89 season.
The Spurs had a new owner, Red McCombs, as well as a new head
coach, Larry Brown. However, the results were even worse than the
previous year. A 1-12 showing in February and an 8-game losing
streak to end the season resulted in a 21-61 record. Injuries
decimated the club, with Alvin Robertson just one of many Spurs who
spent time on the sidelines, but the team was weak by any
standards. Only rookie Willie Anderson provided a ray of hope. The
6-foot-8 swingman led the team in scoring (18.7 ppg) and finished
runner-up to Mitch Richmond for the NBA Rookie of the Year
Award.
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1989-90: From Worst To First
The Spurs went from worst to first the following season under
Coach Brown. David Robinson completed his tour of duty on May 19,
1989. Nine days later, the Spurs sent Robertson and Greg "Cadillac"
Anderson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Terry Cummings. In the 1989 NBA
Draft, San Antonio selected Sean Elliott with the third overall
pick. Later that summer Johnny Dawkins was shipped to the 76ers as
part of a five-player deal, and Maurice Cheeks joined the Spurs. By
opening day the Spurs' roster had nine new faces.
San Antonio opened the 1989-90 season with a 106-98 win over the
Lakers. In his NBA debut Robinson scored 23 points and snagged 17
rebounds. San Antonio went 8-5 in November, then moved into first
place in the Midwest Division after going 11-2 in December. On
February 21 the Spurs made one more deal, acquiring point guard Rod
Strickland from the New York Knicks for Cheeks.
San Antonio finished with a 56-26 record and a one-game cushion
over the second-place Utah Jazz. The 35-game improvement from
1988-89 to 1989-90 was the biggest one-year swing in NBA history.
The driving force behind the turnaround was "the Admiral." Rookie
of the Month in each month of the season, Robinson led the team in
scoring (24.3 ppg) and rebounding (12.0 rpg). He was the league's
Rookie of the Year and was named to the Western Conference All-Star
squad.
The Spurs waltzed past the Denver Nuggets in the first round of
the 1990 NBA Playoffs. The Western Conference Semifinal matchup
with the Portland Trail Blazers produced a tremendous seven-game
series that included two overtime losses for San Antonio: a 138-132
double-overtime defeat in Game 5 and a heartbreaking 108-105 loss
in Game 7 that ended San Antonio's season.
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1990-92: First Round Not Kind To Spurs
The Spurs proved that the 1989-90 season was not a fluke by
outdueling the Utah Jazz during the following campaign to take the
Midwest Division crown for a second straight year. The team
finished with a 55-27 record, and the success came despite the loss
of Strickland for 24 games and Cummings for 15, both due to injury.
Playing in his second straight NBA All-Star Game, Robinson scored
16 points in 18 minutes.
The Spurs entered the postseason as a contender for the NBA
title. But the team stumbled in the first round of the playoffs
against Golden State. Three Spurs scored more than 30 points in San
Antonio's 130-121 Game 1 victory, but the Warriors claimed the next
three games to steal the series.
San Antonio made one significant trade during the offseason,
picking up 6-foot-9 muscleman Antoine Carr from Sacramento for
Dwayne Schintzius. Strickland, the team's starting point guard,
began the season on the sidelines because of a contract dispute and
didn't suit up until late December. Despite the absence of their
point guard, the Spurs opened the 1991-92 campaign by going 10-3 in
November. The club struggled through the next two months, and Head
Coach Larry Brown stepped down on January 21. Bob Bass, who was
serving as vice president of basketball operations, took over the
reins for the fourth time in 17 years.
Under Bass, the team closed out the season by winning 26 games
and losing 18 to post a final record of 47-35, good enough for
second place in the Midwest Division behind the Jazz. The Spurs'
chances of advancing in the playoffs were severely hampered by the
absence of Robinson and Willie Anderson. "The Admiral" was placed
on the injured list on April 1 after undergoing surgery to repair a
torn ligament in his left hand. Anderson missed the final 24 games
of the season with a stress fracture in his left tibia. Neither
player was ready for action when the postseason began, and the
Spurs were swept in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.
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1992-93: Tarkanian's Tenure Brief; Lucas Takes Helm
In the offseason the Spurs hired Jerry Tarkanian as their new
head coach. That summer San Antonio also acquired Dale Ellis from
Milwaukee, but the club lost Terry Cummings for much of the
upcoming 1992-93 season when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament
in his right knee.
The Spurs never jelled under Tarkanian. The team opened by
losing four of five games and was 5-6 at the end of November. In
mid-December the franchise made two key moves. The first was on the
court. On December 9 the Spurs sent Sidney Green and a pair of
draft choices to the Charlotte Hornets and received J. R. Reid in
return. Ten days later the Tarkanian reign came to a close after
only six weeks. He had posted a 9-11 record.
The head coaching duties were handed to John Lucas. The Spurs
played inspired basketball under the former NBA guard, winning 16
of 18 games after Lucas took over. A key move was the insertion
into the starting lineup of Avery Johnson, a 5-foot-10 journeyman
point guard. A former teammate of Lucas's in Seattle, "A. J."
averaged 11.4 points and 9.9 assists while leading the Spurs to an
11-1 record in his first dozen starts.
The Spurs went 9-4 in February to climb to 35-18 overall, and
they took the lead in the Midwest Division. An 8-8 record in March
dropped the team back into second place behind the Houston Rockets.
On March 26 the franchise changed hands when Red McCombs sold his
interest to a consortium of 12 investors. The sale price was $75
million.
San Antonio continued to struggle in April, winning just 6 of 13
games. The Spurs managed to dispatch the Trail Blazers in the first
round of the playoffs, winning by one point in Game 1 and by three
points in an overtime contest in Game 4 to take the series. San
Antonio gave Phoenix a scare in the next round. The teams split the
first four games, with each team winning on its home court. The
Suns beat the Spurs in Game 5 in Phoenix, 109-96. Game 6 was played
at the HemisFair Arena. An 18-foot jump shot by Charles Barkley
broke a 100-100 deadlock with 1.8 seconds left, and when David
Robinson missed a 20-footer at the buzzer, the Spurs were
eliminated. It was the last game at the HemisFair Arena. The Spurs
moved to the brand-new Alamodome for the 1993-94 season.
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1993-94: King David Can't Take Spurs To The Promised Land
In the offseason the Spurs traded Sean Elliott to the Detroit
Pistons in a deal that brought Dennis Rodman to San Antonio.
Rodman, sporting a variety of hair colors throughout the year,
changed the entire look of the Spurs in 1993-94. A team that had
finished last in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage the
previous season vaulted to first with Rodman aboard. The
iconoclastic rebounder helped San Antonio craft the league's
second-best defense, allowing only 94.8 points per game.
However, Rodman's most noticeable impact was on David Robinson,
who had less pressure to rebound and more opportunities to score.
Doing more of his work on the perimeter, Robinson led the NBA in
scoring with 29.8 points per game. On the last day of the season he
wrested the scoring crown from Shaquille O'Neal by pouring in 71
points against the Los Angeles Clippers, becoming only the fourth
player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game. He had also
registered the fourth quadruple-double in NBA annals with 34
points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against Detroit on
February 17. At season's end, he was runner-up to Hakeem Olajuwon
for the NBA MVP Award.
Rodman (17.3 rpg) and Robinson became the first teammates to
lead the NBA in both scoring and rebounding in the same season. The
Spurs finished 55-17, second to the Houston Rockets in the Midwest
Division. But after going 3-7 in their final 10 games, they entered
a first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz with little
momentum. Utah won in four games, as the Spurs managed only 88.0
points per contest. A few weeks later Lucas left San Antonio to
become head coach and general manager of the Philadelphia
76ers.
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1994-95: Robinson & Co. Surge To 62-Win Season
The 1994-95 campaign proved to be the best ever for the Spurs,
although it ended a bit prematurely for San Antonio fans. The team
posted a 62-20 record, tops in the NBA and the best in franchise
history. The Spurs' previous best record was 56-26 in 1989-90,
David Robinson's rookie season.
The year didn't begin with much promise. With Dennis Rodman
suspended, San Antonio stumbled out to a 7-9 record. But the Spurs
went 55-11 the rest of the way, logging a 15-game winning streak
during one stretch. They ended the regular season with a 21-2
record in their final 23 games. The team went 11-2 in February,
14-2 in March, and 11-2 in April to win the Midwest Division.
Several players had career seasons. Robinson won the NBA Most
Valuable Player Award for a season in which he was third in the
league in scoring (27.6 ppg), seventh in rebounding (10.8 rpg), and
fourth in blocked shots (3.23 per game). He was also named to the
NBA All-Defensive First Team. Dynamic point guard Avery Johnson
rejoined the team after a year with the Golden State Warriors and
averaged 13.4 points and 8.2 assists. He increased his scoring
average for the seventh consecutive season, and his .519 field-goal
percentage ranked third among NBA guards.
Sean Elliott, reacquired from the Detroit Pistons in a trade for
draft pick Bill Curley, lit up the scoring charts with an average
of 18.1 points per game and drilled 136 of 333 three-pointers for a
.408 percentage (18th in the NBA). Rodman's look remained unique
and his rebounding unmatched. Despite missing 33 games, he led the
league in rebounding for the fourth consecutive season (16.8 rpg)
and was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive
First Team. Vinny Del Negro assumed the starting off guard job and
averaged 12.5 points on .486 shooting from the field. Chuck Person
joined the team and knocked down 172 three-pointers as a hired gun
off the bench.
In the playoffs, the Spurs swept the Denver Nuggets in the first
round, got past the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the
conference semifinals, and then fell in six games to the Houston
Rockets in the conference finals.
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1995-96: Spurs Can't Shake Playoff Blues
Prior to the 1995-96 season, the Spurs traded Dennis
Rodman to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for center Will Perdue.
While Rodman's talents ultimately led the Bulls back to the NBA
championship, the hope was that the trade would be addition by
subtraction. Rodman, though an unparalleled rebounder, proved
distracting to the Spurs in their quest for a title.
The move paid off in the regular season, where the Spurs didn't
miss a beat. They completed the season 59-23 to capture their
second straight Midwest Division title, only three games off their
record-setting pace of the previous year. Team chemistry was
remarkable, and according to coach Bob Hill "the best I've ever
been around."
The talent was equally extraordinary. Sean Elliott and David
Robinson represented the West at the All-Star Game, and the
backcourt of Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson posted the league's
best assist to turnover ratio. They shored up their front line with
the acquisition of Charles Smith and Monty Williams from New York
in February. In March, they posted a perfect 16-0 record, tying
them with the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the best month in NBA
history.
But come playoff time, the Spurs faced the same question. Could
they win in the postseason? They proved to Phoenix that the answer
was yes, winning three games to one in the first round best-of-five
series. In the second round, the Spurs battled the Utah Jazz to six
games, but as in 1994, the Jazz toppled the Spurs, handing San
Antonio's hope of that still elusive trip to the Finals.
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1996-97: Injuries Sink Spurs, But Land Duncan
The 1996-97 season was one of the most frustrating in franchise
history for the San Antonio Spurs, but ultimately may turn out to
be for the best.. Although the Spurs lost David Robinson to injury,
managed only 20 wins and missed the playoffs for the first time
since the 1988-89 season, they struck gold in the 1997 Draft
Lottery, landing the first overall pick and draft rights to super
prospect Tim Duncan.
Injuries decimated the Spurs, none more so than that of
Robinson, who returned from back problems only to suffer a broken
foot. The former MVP appeared in only nine games. Chuck Person was
even less fortunate, missing the entire season following back
surgery. Charles Smith missed 65 games with an arthritic right knee
and Sean Elliott missed 43 games with tendinitis in the right knee.
The loss of those four players, each among the top six scorers from
the 1995-96 team, prompted the steepest one-year decline in NBA
history, from 59 wins to only 20.
Another Spurs casualty was head coach Bob Hill, relieved of his
duties after a 3-15 start, and replaced by General Manager Gregg
Popovich, who posted a 17-47 record in his first stint as an NBA
head coach.
In the absence of many of his regulars, Popovich relied on a
veteran crew that included free agent signees Dominique Wilkins and
Vernon Maxwell and the familiar backcourt duo of Vinnie Del Negro
and Avery Johnson. Wilkins, one of the top scorers in NBA history,
led the offensive charge with 18.2 points per game. During the
season he became only the 38th player to appear in 1,000 NBA games
and surpassed 26,000 points, moving into seventh place on the NBA's
all-time scoring list.
All the pain of the 1996-97 season went away on May 18, when the
Spurs won the Lottery and drew the top pick in the 1997 NBA Draft.
That assured them the rights to Duncan, a dominant collegiate star
at Wake Forest. With a dynamic duo of Robinson and Duncan up front,
San Antonio was expected to return to a place among the league's
elite in 1997-98.
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1997-98: Duncan Spurs Quick Turnaround
The San Antonio Spurs knew they were going to be an
improved team in 1997-98. After all, they were coming off of a
20-62 season, the worst in their 25-year NBA history. Just how good
they came, and how quickly, surprised a lot of NBA teams.
With the return of David Robinson (who missed all but six games
the previous season because of injury) and the arrival of Tim
Duncan, the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, the Spurs
engineered the biggest single-season turnaround in NBA history,
winning 56 games and advancing to the second round of the NBA
Playoffs.
For the season, Duncan averaged 21.1 points (12th in the NBA),
11.9 rebounds (3rd), 2.51 blocks (6th) and led all NBA players with
57 double-doubles. He was named to the NBA All-Star Team and
needless to say, he ran away with the NBA Rookie of the Year
award.
Unlike many prized rookies, Duncan didn't have the burden of
carrying the offensive load. Standing right beside him all season
was Robinson, the former MVP who returned from his injury-plagued
season to his place among the league's elite centers.
It only took the Spurs revamped lineup about a month to learn to
play together. After a Dec. 9 loss dropped San Antonio to 10-10, it
all clicked and the Spurs soared, going 46-16 in their final 62
games. Like Duncan, Robinson earned a berth on the Western
Conference All-Star team and was among the league leaders in
scoring (21.6 ppg, 10th in the NBA), rebounding (10.6 rpg, 5th),
blocks (2.63 bpg, 5th) and double-doubles (40, 9th).
In the playoffs, the Spurs faced the Phoenix Suns in the first
round. But for all of Suns coach Danny Ainge's worries about Duncan
and Robinson, it was diminutive Avery Johnson who closed the door
on Phoenix. The 5-10 point guard, still hearing the whispers that
the Spurs needed a stronger point guard to contend, had his way
with Phoenix throughout the series, averaging a team-high 20.5 ppg
and 6.0 apg in the 3-to-1 series win.
Against the Utah Jazz in the Conference Semfinals, the Spurs
continued to give every indication that they were a title
contender. They just couldn't put away the defending conference
champs. Utah won Game 1, 83-82, despite 33 points from Duncan. In
Game 2, Utah prevailed 109-106 in overtime, and the Spurs' chances
took a huge hit when Duncan sprained his ankle. San Antonio
rebounded to win Game 3, but lost the series in five games.
1998-99: The Championship Season
San Antonio struggled in the first month of the
lockout-shortened season. But once the Spurs hit their stride,
nobody could block their path to the franchise's first NBA title.
The Spurs clinched the championship on Avery Johnson's jumper
with 47 seconds left in Game 5 of the Finals, giving San Antonio a
78-77 victory over the New York Knicks. Tim Duncan averaged 27.4
points, 14 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the series and was named
Finals MVP.
Duncan's fellow Twin Tower, David Robinson, also made his
presence known. The perennial All-Star, in his 10th season with the
Spurs, averaged 16.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in the
Finals as San Antonio became the first former ABA team to win the
NBA title.
One of the most compelling story lines came to light after the
season ended. Starting forward Sean Elliott revealed that he had
played despite needing a kidney transplant. Elliott, who was
battling a rare kidney disease, received the transplant Aug. 16.
His brother Noel donated the kidney.
Elliott averaged 33.8 minutes in 17 playoff games and was
responsible for the "Memorial Day Miracle." On that play, he
tiptoed the sideline to stay inbounds before hitting a
three-pointer with nine seconds left, lifting the Spurs to an 86-85
win over Portland in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
San Antonio's championship season had an inauspicious beginning
as the Spurs went 6-8 in February. But the players eventually
settled into a groove, and the team got a spark when veteran
swingman Mario Elie joined the starting lineup. The Spurs went 31-5
after their slow start and they raced through the postseason with a
15-2 record.
Duncan was named to the All-NBA First Team for the second year
in a row. He was the only NBA player to finish in the top 10 in
scoring (21.7 ppg, sixth), rebounds (11.4 rpg, fifth), blocks
(2.52, seventh) and field goal percentage (.495, 10th).
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