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In the 1989 draft, the Spurs used the 3rd overall pick to select sharp-shooting swingman
Sean Elliott from Arizona. San Antonio also made several roster moves, sending Robertson and
"Cadillac" Anderson to the Bucks for bruising power forward Terry Cummings. They then acquired
Maurice Cheeks from the the Sixers in a trade that included 5 players.
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| A young David Robinson shows his pure athleticisim. |
San Antonio finished the year at 56-26, the largest one season improvement in NBA history. The Admiral led the way, leading the team in scoring and rebounding, winning Rookie of the Month in each month, and Rookie of the Year honors, as well as being named to the Western Conference All-Star squad.
San Antonio defeated the Nuggets easily in the first round of the playoffs, but were then beaten in a heart-breaking 7 game series against the Blazers.
The 1990-91 season proved to the entire league that the Spurs were a team to be reckoned with. David Robinson led the way again, and the Spurs won 55 games while losing just 27, just beating out the Jazz for the Midwest Division crown. However, the teams well documented playoff woes also started that year, with the Spurs bowing out to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, 3 games to 1.
Prior to the 1991-92 season, the Spurs traded away Dwayne Schintzius to the Kings for another bruiser underneath, Antoine "Big Dawg" Carr. The team started out hot, but then suffered through a drought, causing Larry Brown to step down as the teams head coach on January 21.
For the fourth time, Bob Bass took over the team. The Spurs finished that year at 47-35, second place in the Midwest Division. The playoffs were again a disaster, with neither Robinson (hand surgery) or Willie Anderson playing, San Antonio was subsequently swept in the first round by the Suns.
In the off-season, the team hired Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV fame to coach the team. This proved to be a disaster. The team started out the season 9-11, and Tarkanian was fired just 20 games into his NBA coaching career. John Lucas was hired, and the team proceeded to surge under his hands. The Spurs played well for the rest of the season and defeated the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs.
The Spurs only made it to the second round of the playoffs though, after losing to the Suns in a six game series which brought the old HemisFair Arena to a close.
1993-94 saw the arrival of Dennis Rodman to San Antonio. The Spurs traded Sean Elliott in exchange for "the Worm" and the Spurs immediately improved in the rebounding department, going from last to first in offensive rebounding and showcasing the leagues second best defense, allowing just 94.8 points per game.
This was also the beginning of David Robinson's run as arguably the best overall player in the game. With less rebounding pressure thanks to Rodman, Robinson averaged 29.8 points per game. The topper came on the final game of the season, with the Admiral dropping a staggering 71 points on the lowly Los Angeles Clippers to win the scoring crown over Shaquille O'Neal.
Robinson had also became just the 4th player in NBA history and the second Spur ever to record a quadruple-double, with 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocked shots against the Pistons.
San Antonio finished the season 55-27, but were beaten in the first round of the playoffs by the Utah Jazz after Rodman was suspened by the league for taking a cheapshot at Jazz point guard (and fellow cheapshot artist) John Stockton.
The 1994-95 season went down as the best in team history, at least from the perspective of the regular season. The Spurs started out slow, at 7-9, but then proceeded to win 55 out of their last 66 games to finish the season at 62-20. David Robinson won the NBA MVP award, averaging 27.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
However, the playoffs, once again, were a disappointment. San Antonio swept the Nuggets in the first round, defeated the Lakers in the second round, but were knocked out in the Conference Finals by eventual NBA Champion Houston.
Before the start of the 1995-96 season, San Antonio decided that the distractions caused by the eccentric Rodman far outweighed the merits of his rebounding. They traded Rodman to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for seven foot center Will Perdue.
Once again, the Spurs roared through the regular season, finishing with an impressive 59-23, which included a perfect 16-0 in the month of March.
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| Sean Elliott was named an All-Star during the 1995-96 season. |
However, the playoffs yielded the same result as in years past. The Spurs defeated the Suns 3 games to 1 in the first round, and were then beaten in the second round by the Utah Jazz.
The entire 1996-97 season can be summed up with one simple word:
injuries.
David Robinson missed the first part of the season with back problems, then played in only 9 games before breaking his foot against the Miami Heat. Chuck "The Rifleman" Person missed the entire season following back surgery, Charles Smith missed 65 of the eighty-two games with a bad knee and Sean Elliott missed 43 games with tendinitis in his knee.
Needless to say, the end result was dreadful. The Spurs made the worst fall-off in record in NBA history, finishing at 20-62. The final casualty of this season was head coach Bob Hill, who was fired after a 3-15 start, with GM Gregg Popovich adding head coach to his list of duties.
Much brighter times were on the horizon though, because as a result of their 20 win season, the Spurs ultimately won the Draft Lottery and the right to draft Tim Duncan of Wake Forest.
Article by Michael Bonner
