San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are a National Basketball Association team based in San Antonio, Texas.

A New Century, A New Era

The Spurs finished with 58-24 records for both the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons but found themselves suffering playoff ousters in both seasons from the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Related Topics:
2001 - 2002 - Los Angeles Lakers

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Entering the 2002-2003 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 (approved in 1999 by County voters), the SBC Center, named after telecommunications giant SBC whose corporate headquarters were located in San Antonio. 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 was now the starting point guard for the Spurs and the squad featured a variety of three-point shooters including Stephen Jackson, Danny Ferry, Bruce Bowen and Argentina product Emanuel Ginóbili. 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.

Related Topics:
2003 - SBC Center - SBC - Los Angeles Lakers - Tony Parker - Stephen Jackson - Danny Ferry - Bruce Bowen - Emanuel Ginóbili - Dallas Mavericks - New Jersey Nets

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In the 2003-2004 season, the Spurs were knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers rallied from a 0-2 hole in the series and won 4 straight. The series was defined by a game winning shot in Game 5 by Derek Fisher with 0:00.4 left in the game. After the stunning loss, the Spurs spent the following offseason by tweaking the team.

Related Topics:
2004 - Derek Fisher

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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 to the dismay of Spurs fans), and veteran forward Glenn Robinson from free agency, alongside regularsBruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan, the Spurs finished the 2004-2005 season ranked number two in the Western Conference with a 59-23 record, finishing with 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 by defeating the Eastern Conference champion and defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons 4-3 on June 23, 2005. 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.

Related Topics:
Brent Barry - Seattle - Nazr Mohammed - New York - Malik Rose - Glenn Robinson - Free agency - Bruce Bowen - Robert Horry - Tony Parker - Manu Ginobili - Tim Duncan - 2004 - 2005 - Postseason - Denver Nuggets - Phoenix Suns - NBA Finals - Detroit Pistons - Finals MVP - Magic Johnson - Shaquille O'Neal - Michael Jordan - Argentina

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