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San Antonio Spurs Collectibles and Memorabilia
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Between 1978 and 2017, the San Antonio Spurs won 22 division titles, which means their record for making the playoffs during those years was better than .500. Now, lots of teams in the NBA would be thrilled to be playing .500 ball, let alone...
Between 1978 and 2017, the San Antonio Spurs won 22 division titles, which means their record for making the playoffs during those years was better than .500. Now, lots of teams in the NBA would be thrilled to be playing .500 ball, let alone getting to the playoffs more than every other year, but the Spurs are not like lots of other teams. Coached by Gregg Popovich since 1996, the Spurs are a stubbornly reliable contender, the team that Western Conference opponents dread as they eye the playoff bracket on their way to the NBA Finals.
The Spurs weren’t always such a mainstay of the NBA. The team made its pro-basketball debut as a franchise of the ABA in 1967—the same year the Rockets launched in San Diego—as the Dallas Chaparrals. The Chaps played two years in Dallas before swapping the name of its host city for the name of its host state, playing its games in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Lubbock. But that nomadic existence never caught on with fans. By 1971, the team had reclaimed its Dallas Chaparrals brand, and in its last game in Dallas, on March 26, 1973, the Chaps played for a crowd with a paid attendance of just 134 souls.
For the 1973-74, the team’s new owners moved the Chaparrals to San Antonio and changed their name to the Spurs, no doubt hoping to kick the team into gear. During that first season in San Antonio, the team acquired two key players from an even more down-on-its-heels ABA franchise, the Virginia Squires. First to join the team was Swen Nater, who was followed a few months later by George Gervin. These two players, plus contributions from James Silas, Rich Jones, Donnie Freeman, and others, helped the Spurs achieve three winning seasons in a row.
Throughout the 1975-76 season, the ABA had been running on fumes, down to just seven teams. Finally, in June of 1976, four of those teams—the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs—were added to the NBA. In its first NBA game, the Spurs beat Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers on its home court 121-118. In the years that followed, George Gervin would be the team’s leading scorer, but his performance alone was not enough to get the team to where it wanted to be. And though there were many high points during the 1980s—a triple-overtime 171-166 win over the Milwaukee Bucks; Artis Gilmore shooting .631 in 1983-84; Alvin Robertson’s quadruple-double during the 1985-86 season; the arrival of David Robinson in 1989-90—it was a decade many Spurs fans would possibly prefer to forget.
The 1990s did not begin so great, either, but the arrival of Dennis Rodman in 1993-94 was welcome news. Rodman’s defensive skills allowed Robinson to concentrate on his shooting game, and by the end of the season the two players led the NBA in rebounding and scoring respectively. The next season, Robinson would become the NBA’s MVP, but Rodman began the year with a suspension from his own team, and spent much of the season recovering from injuries due to a motorcycle accident. In 1995, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he helped Michael Jordan lead their team to an NBA Championship.
Two important changes occurred in 1996-97—Gregg Popovich was hired as head coach and free agent Dominique Wilkins was acquired. Though the season was hardly a winning one, it ended with a bright prospect in the 1997 draft when a center from Wake Forest named Tim Duncan was signed. In the 1997-98 season, Duncan and Robinson proved a formidable duo, and by 1999, the Spurs would claim the first of five NBA championships over the next 15 years. Contributing to those championships were Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In recent years, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul have added even more talent to the venerable team.
Continue readingBetween 1978 and 2017, the San Antonio Spurs won 22 division titles, which means their record for making the playoffs during those years was better than .500. Now, lots of teams in the NBA would be thrilled to be playing .500 ball, let alone getting to the playoffs more than every other year, but the Spurs are not like lots of other teams. Coached by Gregg Popovich since 1996, the Spurs are a stubbornly reliable contender, the team that Western Conference opponents dread as they eye the playoff bracket on their way to the NBA Finals.
The Spurs weren’t always such a mainstay of the NBA. The team made its pro-basketball debut as a franchise of the ABA in 1967—the same year the Rockets launched in San Diego—as the Dallas Chaparrals. The Chaps played two years in Dallas before swapping the name of its host city for the name of its host state, playing its games in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Lubbock. But that nomadic existence never caught on with fans. By 1971, the team had reclaimed its Dallas Chaparrals brand, and in its last game in Dallas, on March 26, 1973, the Chaps played for a crowd with a paid attendance of just 134 souls.
For the 1973-74, the team’s new owners moved the Chaparrals to San Antonio and changed their name to the Spurs, no doubt hoping to kick the team into gear. During that first season in San Antonio, the team acquired two key players from an even more down-on-its-heels ABA franchise, the Virginia Squires. First to join the team was Swen Nater, who was followed a few months later by George Gervin. These two players, plus contributions from James Silas, Rich Jones, Donnie Freeman, and others, helped the Spurs achieve three winning seasons in a row.
Throughout the 1975-76 season, the ABA had been running on fumes, down to just seven teams. Finally, in June of 1976, four of those teams—the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs—were added to the NBA. In its first NBA game, the Spurs beat Julius Erving and the
Between 1978 and 2017, the San Antonio Spurs won 22 division titles, which means their record for making the playoffs during those years was better than .500. Now, lots of teams in the NBA would be thrilled to be playing .500 ball, let alone getting to the playoffs more than every other year, but the Spurs are not like lots of other teams. Coached by Gregg Popovich since 1996, the Spurs are a stubbornly reliable contender, the team that Western Conference opponents dread as they eye the playoff bracket on their way to the NBA Finals.
The Spurs weren’t always such a mainstay of the NBA. The team made its pro-basketball debut as a franchise of the ABA in 1967—the same year the Rockets launched in San Diego—as the Dallas Chaparrals. The Chaps played two years in Dallas before swapping the name of its host city for the name of its host state, playing its games in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Lubbock. But that nomadic existence never caught on with fans. By 1971, the team had reclaimed its Dallas Chaparrals brand, and in its last game in Dallas, on March 26, 1973, the Chaps played for a crowd with a paid attendance of just 134 souls.
For the 1973-74, the team’s new owners moved the Chaparrals to San Antonio and changed their name to the Spurs, no doubt hoping to kick the team into gear. During that first season in San Antonio, the team acquired two key players from an even more down-on-its-heels ABA franchise, the Virginia Squires. First to join the team was Swen Nater, who was followed a few months later by George Gervin. These two players, plus contributions from James Silas, Rich Jones, Donnie Freeman, and others, helped the Spurs achieve three winning seasons in a row.
Throughout the 1975-76 season, the ABA had been running on fumes, down to just seven teams. Finally, in June of 1976, four of those teams—the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs—were added to the NBA. In its first NBA game, the Spurs beat Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers on its home court 121-118. In the years that followed, George Gervin would be the team’s leading scorer, but his performance alone was not enough to get the team to where it wanted to be. And though there were many high points during the 1980s—a triple-overtime 171-166 win over the Milwaukee Bucks; Artis Gilmore shooting .631 in 1983-84; Alvin Robertson’s quadruple-double during the 1985-86 season; the arrival of David Robinson in 1989-90—it was a decade many Spurs fans would possibly prefer to forget.
The 1990s did not begin so great, either, but the arrival of Dennis Rodman in 1993-94 was welcome news. Rodman’s defensive skills allowed Robinson to concentrate on his shooting game, and by the end of the season the two players led the NBA in rebounding and scoring respectively. The next season, Robinson would become the NBA’s MVP, but Rodman began the year with a suspension from his own team, and spent much of the season recovering from injuries due to a motorcycle accident. In 1995, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he helped Michael Jordan lead their team to an NBA Championship.
Two important changes occurred in 1996-97—Gregg Popovich was hired as head coach and free agent Dominique Wilkins was acquired. Though the season was hardly a winning one, it ended with a bright prospect in the 1997 draft when a center from Wake Forest named Tim Duncan was signed. In the 1997-98 season, Duncan and Robinson proved a formidable duo, and by 1999, the Spurs would claim the first of five NBA championships over the next 15 years. Contributing to those championships were Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In recent years, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul have added even more talent to the venerable team.
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