The San Antonio Spurs started out as the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA. They were led by player-coach Cliff Hagan and they were one of the 11 original teams to play in the ABA. Fans weren't showing a lot of interest in the organization, despite the fact that they were playing good basketbal. The owner decided to give up on the team and "lend-lease" it to a group of 36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Angelo Drossos, John Schaefer and Red McCombs. The team was subsequently transferred to San Antonio and became the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite only being a small market, the San Antonio Spurs quickly became a crowd favorite. The early Spurs were led by James Silas and then later on by George Gervin after a "controversial" trade with the Virginia Squires. The ABA tried to block the deal, claiming it would be detrimental to the league, but a judge would rule in the Spurs favor.
After immediate financial success for the Spurs, despite early playoffs woes, the team was included in the ABA-NBA merger. George Gervin would consistently lead the Spurs to the playoffs, but their season was ended by the likes of the Washington Bullets, the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
After Gervin was traded to the Bulls in the 1984-85 season, the Spurs struggled immensely for years until they were able to draft David Robinson with the first draft choice in 1988. After adding additional pieces like Sean Elliot and Terry Cummings to complement Robinson, the Spurs would have an incredible turnaround. San Antonio would go on to win 56 games and David Robinson would win Rookie of the Year after averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds a game.
For years Robinson was a star in San Antonio with varying levels of success. He won the MVP award once, but they never reached the Finals until they landed another No. 1 pick in the draft, Tim Duncan. The twin towers of Duncan and Robinson won one title during the shortened NBA season in 1998-99. They would win another title before Robinson retired for good during the 2002-03 season, and two more titles with the new big three in Parker, Ginobili and Duncan.
The greatest San Antonio Spurs team of all time would go to the 2002-03 Spurs. Robinson would retire as an NBA champion playing alongside a solid nucleus of Steve Kerr, Stephen Jackson, Sean Elliott, Tony Parker, rookie Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Although the Spurs have four championships, the 2002-03 title team is definitely the greatest Spurs team of all time.
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