The Spurs were originally the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA. In their first year of existence, the Chaparrals posted a 46-32 record. In the playoffs they swept Houston 3-0, but then lost to a New Orleans Buccaneers team that featured Doug Moe, Jimmy Jones, and Larry Brown. The Chaparrals were a team of no-namers. In fact, their 36 year old coach Cliff Hagan was their 3rd leading scorer with 18.2 ppg. The next season, Dallas dropped to the middle of the pack, and were knocked out of the playoffs in a seven game series against New Orleans.
In the 1971 season, the Chaps played home games in Lubbock and Fort Worth, as well as Dallas. A horrible 28-56 season in 72-73, meant a sale to some San Antonio businessmen, and a relocation to San Antonio. The first move Spurs ownership did was to bring back coach Tom Nissalke. The second, was to purchase George Gervin's contract from the Virginia Squires in late January, 1974.
Gervin was immediately dubbed the "Ice Man"-for both his composure and his memorable perfomances in tight games. With Gervin, the Spurs posted 3 straight winning seasons in the final years of the ABA. Yet the Spurs did not win a division title, and Gervin was never closer than fourth in scoring.
Gervin's real arrival was the Spurs second year in the NBA. In 1977-78, he pulled the Spurs to the top of their division. He also engaged in the tightest scoring race in the history of the NBA, along with David Thompson. They were nearly tied on the season's final day. Then Thompson scored 73 points, seemingly locking up the title. However, Gervin (who played after David) pumped in 63, winning the title by exactly one basket.
Under Gervin's leadership, the Spurs posted back to back divisional titles, and became the first ABA team to reach the divisional title round. In 1982, they had another chance at advancing to the finals, but despite 39 and 38 points in the last homecourt games by Gervin, the "Showtime" Lakers led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the series 4-2.
The summer of 1983 saw the end of an era. Coach Stan Albeck left for the Nets, and Gervin was getting old, and was no longer the teams leading scorer. The 1983-84 season began a string of losing seasons. Things got so bad, that it looked like the Spurs would have to leave San Antonio for a bigger money market. Yet just as things seemed at their worst, help came.
In 1989, the Spurs 1987 draft pick had finished his two years of service in the Navy. This 7'1" phenomenon would immediately make the Spurs a contending club. His name...David Robinson. Former Spurs owner, Red McCombs, claims David single-handidly saved the Spurs organization. "The term franchise player is overused," states McCombs. "But I'm not sure there would be a franchise here without David." The Admiral, as he is known, would receive help from draft-pick Sean Elliott. They posted a 56-26 record, a 35 game turnaround from the last year-the biggest in NBA history (a record they would later break after Tim Duncan's drafting). With Robinson displaying his incredible all-around skills, the Spurs were a perennial contender. However despite David's impressive play, the Spurs couldn't manage to get out of the Western Conference Finals. Then, in the 1996-97 season, the Spurs went 20-62, and won the lottery. With that pick, they acquired another seven-footer, Tim Duncan.
Robinson gracefully stepped aside to make room for Duncan in the post. The result was the Spurs first title in 1998-99. The following few seasons, the Spurs would consistently end the season with one of the best records in the league, but they couldn't seem to get over the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs. Then in 2002-03, all the pieces came together again. David continued to provide excellent post defense in the final season of his career, and Duncan won his second MVP award. In addition, the Twin Towers received a little help from a supporting cast of role players. With Bruce Bowen shutting down opposing scorers, the young Tony Parker manning the point, and the energy of rookie Manu Ginobili and Malik Rose coming off the bench, the Spurs raced to the best record in the league, a Western Conference Semifinals victory over the Lakers, and another title.
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