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The San Antonio Spurs debuted in the ABA in 1967 as the Dallas Chaparrals. As the Chaparrals the team played passable basketball, but never really challenged for the top spot in the upstart league until the league spiraled closer and closer to collapse before the merger with the NBA in 1976. The team moved to San Antonio in 1973 and changed the name to the Spurs and changed their middle of the road ways soon after. Swen Nater, James Silas, and George Gervin were the centerpieces of a team that found success after the coach that favored a slow offense, Tom Nissalke, was replaced by one who liked to run, Bob Bass.
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About The San Antonio Spurs
The merger with the NBA placed the Spurs in the Western Division and found them thriving in the new environment. George Gervin was the “Iceman” with a tremendous finger roll that helped him battle for the league lead in scoring every season. The success of Gervin was the success of the Spurs, who went on to win five division titles in six seasons from 1977 to 1983. Though the club was incredible during the regular season, the postseason was a problem. Three times they visited the conference finals and three times they failed to advance.
After 1983, with a George Gervin beginning to feel the miles of an NBA career, the San Antonio Spurs traded the Iceman and the team struggled while trying to find a new star to lead the way. That player came in the 1987 Draft with the first pick. This player was David Robinson of the U.S. Naval Academy. The catch to drafting Robinson was that he had to spend two years completing his naval service. Hid debut in 1989 was highly anticipated and he delivered. Robinson, Terry Cummings, and Sean Elliott took the Spurs from a 21-56 record to a 56-21 record. Robinson won the Rookie of the Year Award averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds a game and started his long career helping the Spurs become one of the best teams in the league.
The team immediately became a contender, taking first or second in the Midwest Division for the next six seasons. In 1995 the center won the NBA MVP Award, but the center would soon find company in the post in San Antonio. After a disastrous 1996-97 season due to injuries of Robinson and Elliott, the Spurs ended up with the first pick in the draft. They selected the highly coveted Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest. Duncan and Robinson flourished as a front court duo.
The new Twin Towers improved the San Antonio Spurs by 36 wins, finishing 56-26 in Duncan’s rookie season. He won the Rookie of the Year Award and the Spurs finished second in the division. The next year a more seasoned Duncan led San Antonio to 37-13 record in a strike-shortened season. The Spurs trampled every opponent in the playoffs, including the Knicks in the Finals. Duncan officially took over as the best player for the Spurs with an NBA Finals MVP in the 1999 series.
Robinson, whose career was now complete, retired after the season. Fears were abound that San Antonio would falter without the Admiral on the roster. The worries provide to be unwarranted. Duncan and Elliott brought the team back to the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Suns. The next season the Spurs made its way to the conference finals, but the Spurs would fall to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
San Antonio then seamlessly changed the team. Duncan remained the center of the team, but his supporting cast now included Stephen Jackson, Danny ferry, Bruce Bowen, Steve Kerr, Steve Smith, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. The team was full of three point shooters that spread the court for Duncan to operate in the high and low post. Jackson and Bowen were also tremendous defenders, so the team could remain a complete offensive and defensive unit. Ginobili and Parker began their transformation from little known foreign players to stars. The San Antonio Spurs equaled the previous season’s record at 58-24 and Tim Duncan finished the 2001-02 season as the NBA MVP.
The Spurs again could not overcome the Lakers, but got their revenge the next season. Duncan again won the NBA MVP and the Spurs improved to 60-22. This time they took out the Lakers in the second round and proceeded through Dallas to the NBA Finals. The New Jersey Nets put up a fight, but ultimately went away after six games. Duncan won the Finals MVP. San Antonio returned to the finals two seasons later in 2005 when Duncan again had an NBA MVP season and would win the NBA Finals MVP for a third time. The Spurs beat the Pistons, who were returning the finals themselves.
The San Anonio Spurs ha adopted an “every odd year” pattern and made it back to the NBA Finals in 2007. This time the Spurs easily swept LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This season the Finals MVP would not go to Duncan. Tony Parker was unstoppable, penetrating at will and hitting the mid range jumper or driving to the basket at will. Parker won the Finals MVP and the Spurs proved they were still one of the best balanced teams in the league. The recent rash of titles has made the rafters at the AT&T Center cluttered, but the Spurs are looking to collect more with their international stars.
The ‘odd year” rule is likely to go out the window this season. The West is simply too competitive and has caught up with the cast of international standouts in San Antonio. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are still playing for the Spurs, but age is expected to finally get to Duncan and Ginobili, as well as much of the supporting cast. Parker is still young and entering his prime as a point guard.
Duncan will be a force for years to come. His fundamentals will make him a more than effective player into his late career. This season the Spurs will move Ginobili to the starting lineup. While his scoring will be appreciated, the move leaves a hole on the bench. Nobody on the bench looks to provide the type of scoring that Manu brought. Finley was once a serious scoring threat, but his age has relegated him to open jumpers.
Still, the role players are built for defense. The San Antonio Spurs will continue to be in the postseason as long as Greg Popovich can motivate his players to hold teams to 90 points a game. This may be enough to get by in the regular season, but in a league that is moving toward quicker guard play, a explosive offense is almost as important. The Spurs should make a good run, but will find the later rounds of the playoffs more difficult than before.
