We're celebeating the Spurs’ silver anniversary with a look at 50 people and moments that made the franchise.
Celebrating the Spurs’ silver anniversary with a look at 50 people and moments that made the franchiseThe most important moment in Spurs history occurred May 18, 1997, in a backroom of a convention hall in Seacacus, N.J. That is when the correct combination of pingpong balls emerged to award the Spurs the No. 1 pick in that year’s NBA draft.
McDermott hired Popovich to run the team’s front office. When the club got off to a poor start to the 1996-97 campaign — largely due to an injury to Robinson — Popovich fired coach Bob Hill and replaced him with … himself.The Duncan-Robinson partnership might not have lasted long had the Spurs not broken through in 1999 to win the club’s first title.
The shot — dubbed “The Memorial Day Miracle” — lifted the Spurs to an 86-85 victory at the Alamodome.Elliott’s big bucket was not the only memorable field goal of the 1999 championship charge. With Game 5 and a championship on the line in New York, it was Avery Johnson who became the Spurs’ improbable hero.
A legal battle ensued, as the ABA did not want the Virginia club to part with its most alluring ticket draw. To complete the deal, then Spurs owner Angelo Drossos spirited Gervin to San Antonio in secret and put him in a version of witness protection at a hotel a stone’s throw from the Alamo. Parker became the second-most decorated Spurs player of the Duncan regime, with six All-Star appearances. Together, Ginobili and Parker gave Duncan a pair of prime running mates throughout the bulk of his career, extending the team’s championship window for an extra decade or more.In fact, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili formed a Big Three unrivaled by any other trio in NBA history. The three All-Stars played together for 14 seasons and won four titles.
In one of the most legendary Finals performance in NBA history, Duncan polished off the Nets in Game 6 with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks. When McCombs set out to sell the team 20 years later, out-of-town investor groups came sniffing around. When McDermott — the chief executive officer at USAA — offered to spearhead a local group willing to buy the team, McCombs agreed to sell them the team for a below-market price of $76 million.The greatest player in Spurs history once came close to leaving town. But only once.
With the Spurs feeding him the ball at every turn, Robinson scored the first 18 points of the game en route to 71 points, still the Spurs’ franchise record. It boosted Robinson’s season average to 29.8 points and made him the second Spurs player to claim the scoring title.The Spurs’ first two trips to the NBA Finals, in 1999 and 2003, resulted in easy-does-it championships against the Knicks and Nets.
The Spurs’ shot at a fourth title came two years later. This time, they drew the Cleveland Cavaliers and an up-and-coming young star named LeBron James. This time, the Spurs left nothing to chance, blasting Miami in five games. The Spurs outscored the Heat by 70 points in the series, at the time the most lopsided Finals in NBA annals.Kawhi Leonard was named the series MVP, becoming the youngest player since Magic Johnson to pocket that award.In a sense, the seeds for the 2014 championship had been planted three years before, when the Spurs pulled off a draft-day coup.
The one of which he was most proud: In his 19 seasons, the Spurs boasted a.710 winning percentage, the highest of any American professional sports team over that span.For the lion’s share of the Spurs’ 50-year history, San Antonio was not considered a prime free-agent destination. That changed in the summer of 2015, when the Spurs landed that year’s biggest free-agent catch in LaMarcus Aldridge.
The All-Star forward appeared in nine games the following season while dealing with a knee injury, then forced his way out of town. In December 2020, Hammon took over for an ejected Popovich in the second quarter of a 121-107 defeat at the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first female acting head coach in NBA history.
That matched a league record set by the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers from 1950 to 1971. The Spurs at last broke their playoff string in 2019-2020, a season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.Months removed from guiding Kansas to the NCAA championship, Larry Brown joined the Spurs as head coach in the summer of 1988. Brown lasted 3½ seasons in San Antonio, and won a pair of Midwest Division titles in Robinson’s first two NBA seasons.
Nicknamed “Captain Late” due to his propensity for fourth-quarter heroics, Silas spent seven seasons in San Antonio and was part of the Spurs’ transition from the ABA to the NBA in 1975. Silas was named to a pair of All-Star teams during his time with the Spurs.Silas also holds the distinction of becoming the first player to have his jersey retired by the organization. The Spurs hung his No. 13 in the HemisFair Arena rafters on Feb. 28, 1984.
“The Worm” led the NBA in rebounding in both seasons in San Antonio, and he still holds club records for most rebounds in a season and game . Rodman also brought his share of drama, which is why after two seasons, Popovich — then the general manager — shipped the future Hall of Famer to Chicago for Will Perdue.The Spurs began their existence playing at HemisFair Arena, which had been built as part of the 1968 HemisFair.
The cannons drenched fans seated below and delayed the start of the Spurs’ season opener against Golden State.44. The A/C game
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