San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are a professional basketball team competing in the NBA's Western Conference, with a rich history dating back to their inception as the Dallas Chaparrals in 1967. Initially part of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the franchise relocated to San Antonio in 1973 due to poor attendance and was officially named the Spurs after a fan contest. The team gained prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s, particularly with the acquisition of star player George Gervin, known as the "Iceman." The Spurs eventually joined the NBA in 1976 and became a formidable presence, winning five championships between 1999 and 2014, led by legends like Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
Coached for many years by Gregg Popovich, the Spurs are celebrated for their strategic emphasis on defense, contributing to their sustained success and multiple playoff appearances. In the 2020s, the team entered a rebuilding phase, which included securing the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to select highly-touted prospect Victor Wembanyama. This evolution reflects the Spurs' commitment to maintaining their competitive legacy, even as they adapt to new challenges in the league.
San Antonio Spurs
Team information
- Inaugural season: 1967 (ABA); 1976 (NBA)
- Home arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
- Owner: Spurs Sports & Entertainment
- Team colors: Black and silver
Overview
The San Antonio Spurs is a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Western Conference. Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1967, the franchise was originally part of the American Basketball Association (ABA), an upstart league created to challenge the NBA. After struggling to draw fans, the team moved to San Antonio in 1973 where its problems continued, leaving its future murky at best. However, the situation turned around drastically when team officials made a franchise-saving trade, acquiring a prolific scorer with the nickname “Iceman.” Buoyed by its potent offense, San Antonio eventually joined the NBA and became one of the league’s most exciting teams of the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1990s, the Spurs turned a stroke of bad luck into another franchise-altering moment by winning the NBA draft lottery. They turned this pick into the foundation of a dynasty that would last into the 2010s and bring home five NBA championships.
History
The San Antonio franchise began in 1967 as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The ABA was formed that year to compete with the more-established NBA. ABA-style basketball was more flamboyant than traditional NBA basketball. The league implemented the three-point shot, embraced player personalities, and staged outlandish promotions to draw fans. Unfortunately for the league, few teams actually attracted a significant fanbase. The Chaparrals were not one of them. The team was mediocre at best and attendance was so bad that some Chaparrals’ games were played before crowds of less than two hundred.
In 1973, a group of San Antonio businesspeople purchased the franchise and moved it to San Antonio. The team was originally going to be named the Gunslingers, but management shifted gears and instead decided to allow fans to choose the name via a contest. Several fans suggested “Spurs,” and the name was officially adopted by the team. Part of the reason was that the “U” in Spurs could easily be made into a cowboy boot spur. Since 1976, the team has incorporated this element into each of its logos. Franchise officials also chose the new team colors of black and silver because they felt that color scheme was a natural fit for the nickname.
The Spurs began play in San Antonino for the 1973–1974 season, but the new team soon faced old problems as attendance suffered. Late in the season, the Spurs traded with the Virginia Squires for a talented but mostly unknown player named George Gervin. Gervin soon became the franchise’s best player, demonstrating a cool scoring touch that earned him the nickname “Iceman.” Gervin’s high-scoring style not only helped the Spurs draw fans, it boosted the team to three straight playoff appearances. When the ABA folded in 1976, four of the league’s strongest franchises were absorbed into the NBA for the 1976–1977 season. Among them was the San Antonio Spurs.
Led by Gervin, the Spurs became one of the best teams in the NBA. From 1978–1983, San Antonio won six out of seven division titles—the first two in the Eastern Conference before switching to the Western Conference for the 1980–1981 season. In 1979, San Antonio advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Washington Bullets in seven games for a shot at the NBA Finals. However, by the 1983–1984 season, an aging Gervin was not enough to maintain the Spurs’ winning ways, and the franchise began to tail off. Following an especially disastrous 28–54 record in 1986–1987, the Spurs won the NBA Draft lottery and were able to select seven-foot-one center David Robinson from the US Naval Academy. After completing a two-year service commitment, Robinson began playing for San Antonio in 1989 and immediately established himself as one of the league’s most dominant players. With Robinson, the Spurs won four division titles from 1990–1996 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 1995.
In many ways, the 1996–1997 season was a key turning point in franchise history, although it did not seem like it at the time. Robinson played in only nine games before breaking his foot, and the Spurs posted a franchise-worst 20–62 record. Early in the season, San Antonio fired Coach Bob Hill and replaced him with former Spurs’ assistant Gregg Popovich. For the second time in a decade, the team’s failures on the court resulted in it winning the NBA Draft lottery. With the top overall pick, San Antonio selected center Tim Duncan, a colligate star at Wake Forest University. Under Popovich’s guidance and with Robinson and Duncan providing an imposing force around the basket, San Antonio’s fortunes quickly rebounded, resulting in the Spurs’ first NBA championship in 1999.
By the early 2000s, Robinson’s career was beginning to wind down and Duncan had taken over as the franchise’s best player. He was joined by two foreign-born players, Tony Parker from France and Manu Ginobili from Argentina. Together, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili formed a group known as the “Big Three,” leading the Spurs to three NBA championships from 2003–2007. The trio stood out not only for their offensive capabilities, but also for playing stifling defense. In fact, under Popovich, San Antonio put a priority on defense, in contrast to other teams’ focus on scoring points. As a result, the Spurs were often seen by outside media as “boring,” and their Big Three were at times overlooked among the era’s high-scoring stars.
San Antonio continued its run of success into the 2010s, advancing to two Western Conference Finals from 2008–2012. In the 2012–2013 season, the Spurs once again made the NBA Finals, taking on a powerhouse Miami Heat team led by superstar LeBron James. Leading the series 3–2, the Spurs missed out on another championship by dropping games six and seven in heartbreaking fashion. The following season, San Antonio would have its revenge thanks to a youngster named Kawhi Leonard. Leonard, who was drafted in 2011, was the driving force in the 2013–2014 NBA Finals as the Spurs easily defeated the favored Heat 4–1 to capture their fifth title in fifteen years.
San Antonio continued to be one of the NBA’s most successful teams in the late 2010s, even as Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili reached the end of their careers. Leonard left the Spurs after the 2017–2018 season, but the Spurs still managed to make the playoffs even with a new group of starters. Much of the credit goes to Popovich, a three-time Coach of the Year winner whose 1,272 regular-season victories stand third all-time in NBA history as of April 2020.
Notable players
The Spurs’ first superstar, George “Iceman” Gervin, played for San Antonio from 1973–1985. During that time, he made twelve ABA and NBA All-Star teams and led the NBA in scoring four times. He finished his career second all-time on the franchise points list with 23,602 and was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Near the end of his career, Gervin was joined on the court by center Artis Gilmore. Gilmore played with San Antonio from 1982–1987 and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2011 for a body of work spanning four ABA and NBA teams. David Robinson, who earned the nickname “The Admiral” for his US Navy background, won two NBA championships with the Spurs from 1989–2003. Robinson was a ten-time All-Star and won the 1993–1994 NBA scoring title and the 1994–1995 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
When Robinson retired, he held most of the Spurs’ franchise records, but these were soon eclipsed by the best player in team history, Tim Duncan. Duncan played his entire career with San Antonio from 1997–2016. During that span, he won the 1997–1998 Rookie of the Year, made fifteen All-Star games, and won back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2001–2002 and 2002–2003. In addition, he won the NBA Finals MVP Award in 1999, 2003, and 2005. Duncan’s 26,496 career points are a franchise record, as are his 15,091 rebounds, a figure that stands seventh all-time in NBA history. In 2020, Duncan was elected to the Hall of Fame.
A six-time All-Star, Tony Parker played with the Spurs from 2001–2018. He was named MVP of the 2007 NBA Finals and holds the franchise record for career assists with 6,829. Ginobili is the Spurs’ all-time leader in steals with 1,392 and three-point field goals with 1,495. He played in two All-Star games with the Spurs from 2002–2018. Kawhi Leonard played for San Antonio from 2011–2017. He made two All-Star appearances with the Spurs and won the 2014 Finals MVP Award. Since Leonard’s departure, the Spurs have been led by LaMarcus Aldridge, who made three of his seven career All-Star appearances with San Antonio.
Bibliography
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