San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and are the current NBA Champions after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals.

The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams (along with the Nets, Pacers, and Nuggets) to remain intact in the NBA after the 1977 merger and are the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship, which they have done four times. As of November 2006, the Spurs rank second among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history (behind the Los Angeles Lakers). With the 2007 sweep, the Spurs have the highest winning percentage in NBA Finals history. They have only missed the playoffs 4 times as an NBA franchise.

In their 30 NBA seasons the Spurs have captured 15 division titles, which gives the Spurs the most division titles in the NBA during the 30-year span (the Lakers are second with 14), among the four major sports the Atlanta Braves are the only other team with 15 divisional titles during the last 30 years.

The Spurs in San Antonio
The Spurs are located in the San Antonio area, and the city shares a special bond with the team almost unmatched in the rest of the NBA, partially due to this being the city's only team in any of the four major U.S. professional sports. Spurs players are active members of the San Antonio community, and many former Spurs are still active in San Antonio, like David Robinson's Carver Academy and the George Gervin Youth Center.

In part because of this community involvement, Spurs fans have been among the most loyal in the NBA. The Spurs set several NBA attendance records while playing at the Alamodome, including the largest crowd ever for a NBA Finals game in 1999, and the Spurs continue to sell out the smaller, more intimate AT&T Center (formerly SBC Center) on a regular basis. The Spurs' rallying cry of "Go Spurs Go!" has endeared itself to the city of San Antonio, and the phrase pops up all over the city as the season progresses into the playoffs and the Spurs inch closer to a possible title.

San Antonio has also garnered praise for the way its citizens celebrate Spurs championships. When the Spurs win a title, San Antonians jam up the streets downtown, march around waving flags, throw confetti and honk car horns until dawn, but with little incidence of crime. The team floats down the San Antonio Riverwalk on boats where fans can view their world champions.

A unique part of every Spurs season comes in February when the team is forced into an extended road-trip due to the occupation of its arena by the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. This is informally known as the "Rodeo Road Trip," and a time that typically starts the Spurs' run to the playoffs; indeed, starting in 1999 the Spurs have consistently posted phenomenal road records during this period, including an NBA-record the longest single road trip winning streak (8 games, achieved in 2003).

Team History

The ABA years: Dallas Chaparrals (1967-1973)
The San Antonio Spurs started out as the Dallas Chaparrals of the original version of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967. Led by Player/Coach Cliff Hagan the Dallas Chaparrals were one of 11 teams to take the floor in the inaugural season of the upstart ABA. The Chaps second season was a bit of a disappointment, as the team finished in 4th place with a mediocre 41-37 record. In the playoffs the Chaparrals quickly fell to the New Orleans Buccaneers. The team suffered from poor attendance and general disinterest in Dallas. In fact, during the 1970-71 season, the name "Dallas" was dropped in favor of "Texas" and an attempt was made to make the team a regional one, playing games in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Tarrant County Coliseum, as well as Lubbock, Texas, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, but this proved a failure and the team returned full-time to Dallas in time for the 1971-72 season, splitting their games at Moody Coliseum and Dallas Convention Center Arena.

The ABA years: Coming to San Antonio (1973-1976)
After missing the playoffs for the first time in their existence in the 1972-73 season, the team was put up for sale. The team was acquired by a group of 36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Angelo Drossos and Red McCombs who actually leased the team from the original Dallas ownership group, relocated the team to San Antonio, Texas and renamed them the Gunslingers. However, before they even played a game the name was changed to Spurs. The team's primary colors were changed from the red, white, and blue of the Chaparrals to the now familiar silver and black motif of the Spurs.

In the first game at the HemisFair Arena the Spurs would lose to the San Diego Conquistadors, despite attracting a noisy crowd of 6,000 fans. A smothering defense was the team's image, as they held opponents less than 100 points an ABA record 49 times. The early Spurs were led by ABA veteran James Silas, and the team would get stronger as the season went on as they twice took advantage of the Virginia Squires, acquiring Swen Nater, who would go on to win Rookie of the Year, in November, and "The Iceman" George Gervin in January. The ABA tried to halt the Gervin deal, claiming it was detrimental to the league, but a judge would rule in the Spurs' favor, and Gervin made his Spurs debut on February 7th. The Spurs would go on to finish with a 45-39 record, good for 3rd place in the Western Division. In the playoffs, the Spurs would battle the Indiana Pacers to the bitter end before falling in 7 games. Following the season, the ownership decided to complete the purchase and to keep the team in San Antonio permanently.

The team quickly made themselves at home at San Antonio's HemisFair Arena, playing to increasingly large and raucous crowds. Despite a respectable 17-10 start during the 1974-75 season, Coach Tom Nissalke was fired as owners become tired of the Spurs' slow defensive style of games. He would be replaced by Bob Bass, who stated that the Spurs would have an entirely new playing style: "It is my belief that you cannot throw a set offense at another professional team for 48 minutes. You've got to let them play some schoolyard basketball." George Gervin and James Silas took that style to heart, as the Spurs became an exciting fast breaking team on the way to a solid 51-33 record, good enough for 2nd place in the West. Gervin: "Our whole theory was that you shoot 100 times, we'll shoot 107." However, in the playoffs the Spurs would fall to the Indiana Pacers in 6 games.

Even though playoff success would elude the team, the Spurs had suddenly found themselves among the top teams in the ABA. In 1976, the ABA folded, threatening the future of San Antonio's sole professional sports franchise. The NBA, however, decided to admit four ABA teams into the league, with the Spurs being one of them, along with the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets.

The Spurs and the other three ABA teams agreed to pay the owners of a 5th team, the Spirits of St. Louis, a portion of all television profits during their NBA tenure. This amounts to roughly 1/7th of their television profit every year. This agreement has placed particular financial pressure on the Spurs and the other three former ABA teams.

Into the NBA: The George Gervin years (1976-1985)
Although there was some initial skepticism in league circles regarding the potential success and talent levels of the incoming ABA teams, the Spurs would prove worthy of NBA inclusion during the 1976-77 season with a record of 44-38, good for a tie for fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference. This was done in spite of significant handicaps the NBA imposed on the incoming ABA teams, limiting their draft picks and television revenues during their early time in the merged league.

During the 1977-78 season, George Gervin and David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets would battle all season for the NBA scoring title. On the final day of the season, Thompson would take the lead by scoring 73 points in an afternoon game against the Detroit Pistons. That night Gervin knew he needed 58 points against the Jazz in New Orleans. Gervin would get off to a good start by scoring 20 points in the 1st Quarter. In the 2nd, The Iceman was even better, setting a single period record with 33 points. Early on in the 3rd period Gervin would score his 58 points on the way to 63 capturing the scoring title. While Gervin was lighting up the scoreboard the Spurs were winning the Central Division with a 52-30 record. However, in the playoffs the Spurs would be stunned in 6 games by the Washington Bullets despite an outstanding series from Gervin who averaged 33.2 ppg.

The Spurs would go on to capture 5 division titles in their first 7 years in the NBA and became a perennial playoff participant. However, in the playoffs, the Spurs would never find a break, losing to teams like the Washington Bullets, the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

As the 80s progressed, the Spurs would see their shares of highs and lows. For the first few seasons of the decade, the Spurs continued their success of the 1970s with records of 52-30 in 1980-81, 48-34 in 1981-82, and 53-29 in 1982-83. Despite their regular season success, the Spurs were unable to win any NBA championships, losing in the Western Conference playoffs to the Houston Rockets in 1981 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982 and 1983.

After the 1984-85 season, Gervin, who arguably had been the Spurs' biggest star, was traded to the Chicago Bulls in what effectively signaled the end of the era that began when the Spurs first moved to San Antonio.

Hard times (1985-1989)
The next four seasons were a dark time in Spurs' history, with the team having a combined record of 115-215 from 1985-86 until 1988-89. The losing seasons and dwindling attendance often caused the Spurs to be mentioned as a potential candidate for relocation to another city. The lone bright spot during this period was the Spurs being awarded the top pick in the 1987 NBA draft through NBA Draft Lottery. The Spurs used this selection on United States Naval Academy standout David Robinson. Although drafted in 1987, the Spurs would have to wait until the 1989-90 season to see Robinson actually play, due to a two-year commitment he had to serve with the United States Navy. Although there was speculation that Robinson might choose not to sign with the Spurs and to become a free agent once his Navy commitment ended,[5] [6] Robinson decided in the end to come to San Antonio.

Although the 1988-89 season was the second-worst in Spurs history at 21-61, it was notable for several reasons. It was the first season of full ownership for Red McCombs, who was an original investor in the team and helped solidify local ownership for the team. Additionally, the 1988-89 season featured the debut of Larry Brown as the Spurs head coach who moved to San Antonio after winning the NCAA National Championship with the University of Kansas in 1988.

Mr. Robinson's neighborhood (1989-1997)
As the 1980s ended, the 1989-90 season proved to be the rebirth of the Spurs franchise. With his tour of duty over, David Robinson arrived to the Spurs along with the newly added Terry Cummings and 1989 draftee Sean Elliott. With these additions, the Spurs achieved the then biggest one-season turnaround in NBA History, finishing with a record of 56-26. The Spurs eventually lost in the Western Conference semifinals after losing a seven-game series to the eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. Robinson had one of the most successful rookie seasons for a center in NBA history, finishing the season as Rookie of the Year while averaging 24.3 points and 12.0 rebounds.

The Spurs began the 1990s with great optimism. The team became a perennial playoff presence, although unable to advance further than the second round of the NBA Playoffs under Brown's tutelage. Late in the 1991-92 season, McCombs fired Brown and replaced him with Bob Bass who finished the season as interim head coach. Without a healthy David Robinson, the Spurs were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns. McCombs made national headlines during the summer of 1992 with the hiring of former UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The Tarkanian experiment proved a flop, as the coach was fired 20 games into the 1992-93 season with the Spurs record at 9-11. After Rex Hughes filled the coaching shoes for one game, NBA veteran John Lucas was named head coach. It was Lucas's first NBA coaching assignment although he had gained recognition in league circles for his success in helping NBA players rehab from drug abuse.

The Lucas era started out successfully. His coaching propelled the team to a 39-22 finish over the rest of the regular season, and the team reached the Western Conference semi-finals, losing to the Phoenix Suns. The 1992-93 season also marked the last that the Spurs would play in HemisFair Arena. In 1993 local businessman Peter M. Holt and a group of 22 investors purchased the Spurs from Red McCombs for $75 million.

The following season, the Spurs first in the newly built Alamodome, Lucas led the Spurs to a 55-27 record but the team suffered a loss in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz, which led to the immediate firing of Lucas as head coach. Prior to the season the Spurs traded fan-favorite Elliott to the Detroit Pistons in return for rebounding star Dennis Rodman.

Lucas was replaced by former Pacers coach Bob Hill for the 1994-95 season, which would turn out to be the Spurs' most successful regular season until 2006. Elliott returned to the team after an uneventful season with the Pistons, and the team finished with the NBA's best record at 62-20. David Robinson was named the league's Most Valuable Player. The Spurs reached the Western Conference Finals, but lost to the eventual NBA Champion Houston Rockets. After the pregame MVP award ceremony honoring David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon dominated the game, outscoring Robinson 42-22 in a Rockets win. Throughout the season, and particularly in the playoffs, there appeared to be friction developing between Rodman and several Spurs' teammates, most notably Robinson, and Rodman was traded after the season to the Chicago Bulls.

The Spurs finished the next season (1995-96) under Hill at 59-23 and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals to the Jazz. Few observers could have predicted how far the Spurs would fall during the 1996-97 season. An injury limited Robinson to just six games during the season, and Elliott also missed more than half the season due to injury. The Spurs ended the season with a 20-62 record, the worst in franchise history. Hill only lasted 18 games as coach that season, eventually being fired and replaced by Spurs General Manager Gregg Popovich, who had also served a stint under Brown as an assistant coach.

Although the 1996-97 season was not successful on the court for the Spurs, the offseason proved to be the opposite. With the third-worst record in the league, the Spurs won the NBA's draft lottery, which gave them the top pick in the 1997 draft. The Spurs used their pick to select Wake Forest University product and consensus All-American Tim Duncan.

The Twin Towers: Duncan and Robinson (1997-2003)
Duncan quickly emerged as a force in the NBA during the 1997-98 season, averaging 21.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game as a power forward. He was named First Team All-NBA while winning Rookie of the Year honors. The team ended up at 56-26, breaking their own record in 1989-90 for the biggest single season improvement for wins, but once again lost to the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals. While both Duncan and Robinson played low-post roles, the two seamlessly meshed on the court. The March 14, 1998, game against the Chicago Bulls set the Spurs' current regular-season home attendance record. An Alamodome crowd of 37,492 came to see Michael Jordan's last visit as a Bull, as he led the team to its third-straight and most recent championship.

With a healthy Robinson and Duncan and the additions of playoff veterans such as Mario Elie and Jerome Kersey, the Spurs looked forward to the 1998-99 season. Prior to the beginning of training camps, however, the NBA owners, led by commissioner David Stern, locked out the players in order to force a new collective bargaining agreement with the NBA Players Association (NBAPA). The season was delayed over three months until resolution on a new labor agreement was reached in January 1999.

Playing a shortened 50-game season, the Spurs ended up with a 37-13 record. The team was just as dominant in the playoffs, rolling through the Western Conference with a record of 11-1. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals and, on June 25, 1999, won the series and the franchise's first NBA Championship in Game 5 (final score: 78-77) on the Knicks' home court, Madison Square Garden. Duncan was named the Finals MVP. The victory by the Spurs was not only the first NBA title to be won by a former ABA team, but also was the first Finals appearance by a team from the ABA. The Spurs also set a new NBA Finals one-game attendance record when 39,554 fans attended Game 2. The previous record was set only two days earlier, when 39,514 spectators attended Game 1.

Coming off their first NBA Championship the Spurs were still among the best teams in the West and battling for first place in the Midwest Division during the 1999-2000 season. On March 14th the Spurs playoff spirits got a lift when Sean Elliott, who received a kidney transplant prior to the season, returned and played in the last 19 games. As the season wound down Tim Duncan would suffer a knee injury and the Spurs finished in second place with a 53-29 record. Without Duncan, the Spurs would be knocked out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns in four games. The long-term viability of the Spurs franchise in San Antonio was, however, achieved during the 1999-2000 season, as Bexar County voters approved increases on car rental and hotel taxes which would allow for the construction of a new arena near the Freeman Coliseum.

The Spurs finished with 58-24 records for both the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons but found themselves suffering playoff ousters in both seasons from the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Entering the 2002-03 season, the team knew it would be memorable for at least two reasons, as David Robinson announced that it would be his last in the NBA and the Spurs would begin play at their new arena, the SBC Center, named after telecommunications giant SBC, whose corporate headquarters are located in San Antonio. (SBC became AT&T after its acquisition of its former parent company.) To mark this occasion, the Spurs revamped their "Fiesta" logo and reverted to the familiar silver and black motif (though, during the time of the Fiesta logo, the uniform remained silver and black).

This version of the Spurs was very different from the team that had won the title a few years earlier. The Spurs had remade their team in an attempt to dethrone the three-time defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Second-year French star Tony Parker, drafted by the Spurs in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, was now the starting point guard for the Spurs. The squad featured a variety of newly acquired three-point shooters, including Stephen Jackson, Danny Ferry, Bruce Bowen, Steve Kerr, Steve Smith and Argentina product Manu Ginobili, a 1999 second-round draft choice playing in his first NBA season. Mixing the inside presences of Duncan and Robinson with the newer outside threats, the Spurs earned a 60-22 record. In the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Suns, Lakers and Dallas Mavericks en route to facing the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals. The series against the Nets marked the first time two former ABA teams would play each other for the NBA Championship. The Spurs won the series 4-2, giving them their second NBA Championship in franchise history. Duncan was named both the NBA Regular Season and Finals MVP for the season.

In the 2003-04 season, coming off their second NBA Championship, the Spurs, playing with 9 new players, struggled early as they missed the presence of David Robinson while the new players struggled to fit in, as they held a 9-10 record on December 3rd. However, the Spurs would turn it around, as they ended December on 13-game winning streak and quickly climbed back to the top of the NBA standings. The Spurs would battle all year for the top spot in the Western Conference, as they ended the season on another strong note winning their final 11 games. However, they would fall 1 game short of a division title and the best record in the West, posting a record of 57-25. In the playoffs, the Spurs remained hot as they swept the Memphis Grizzlies in 4 straight games. In the second round, the Spurs found themselves in another showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs' winning streak would continue as they captured the first two games at home, bringing their winning streak from the end of the regular season up to 17 games. However, as the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Spurs would suddenly have trouble finding the basket, as they lost both games as the Lakers evened the series. The series was playing out similarly to the match-up between the two teams a year earlier. In Game 5 at the SBC Center, Tim Duncan seemingly delivered the Spurs a 73-72 win as he gave the Spurs a lead with a dramatic shot with just 0.4 seconds remaining. However, the Lakers' Derek Fisher would launch a prayer as time expired which would go in, giving the Lakers a stunning 74-73 win to take a 3-2 series lead. The Spurs protested the shot, arguing that the clock started late, which the Spurs claimed was why replays showed Fisher got off the shot in time. An AP report and the three officials in attendance stated that replays showed the shot was released by Fisher before time expired. The officials, however, could not consider the Spurs' claim that the clock did not start immediately when the ball was inbounded. After the stunning loss, the Spurs traveled to Los Angeles for Game 6, where they lost the game and the series. The Spurs spent the following offseason tweaking the team.

With the acquisition of guard Brent Barry from Seattle, and the later additions of center Nazr Mohammed from New York (acquired in a midseason trade of Malik Rose), and veteran forward Glenn Robinson from free agency, alongside regulars Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan, the Spurs finished the 2004-05 season with the second-best record in the Western Conference at 59-23, and the best record in the Southwest Division. In the postseason, the Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 4-1, the Seattle SuperSonics 4-2 and the Phoenix Suns 4-1 before advancing to the NBA Finals, where they won the NBA championship for a third time in seven years on June 23, 2005 by defeating the Eastern Conference champion and defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons, four games to three. Tim Duncan was named Finals MVP, becoming only the fourth player to win the MVP award three times (joining Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Michael Jordan). Also, Manu Ginobili established himself as a NBA star, earning local, national, and international fan praise (particularly in his home country of Argentina) and a berth in that season's All-Star Game.

In the 2005-06 season, the Spurs acquired veteran free agent Michael Finley who along with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and newly-named All-Star Tony Parker, broke their franchise record for wins in a season (63-19) and qualified for the playoffs for the ninth year in a row. (Until this season, the Spurs and Indiana Pacers shared the NBA's longest active consecutive playoff appearance streak with nine in a row — see Active NBA playoff appearance streaks - though San Antonio has qualified for its 10th consecutive appearance during the 2006-07 season, while Indiana's playoff streak ended.) However, the defending-champion Spurs were eliminated in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks in a 7-game semifinal series that, due to a quirk in the playoff ranking system, featured the two top teams in the conference.

In the 2006-07 season, the Spurs finished with a 58-24 record and secured the 3rd seed in the western conference. In their first Playoff series the Spurs faced a tough Denver Nuggets team, yet the Spurs prevailed 4-1. The Spurs went on to face the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs. The Spurs won 4-2 in a very contentious and controversial series. In the Western Conference finals, the Spurs took on the Utah Jazz, and earned a fourth trip to the NBA finals with a 4-1 series win. In the 2007 NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers and captured their fourth title in nine years.

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG