San Antonio Spurs

View Larger Map

One AT&T Center

The San Antonio Spurs began as an original entry in the American Basketball Association. Called the Dallas Chaparrals, the franchise survived the turmoil of the ABA era and was rewarded with admittance to the NBA when the upstart league merged with the NBA. 

The franchise has fielded some fine teams over the years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the team featured George "the Iceman" Gervin and won the Midwest Division five out of six years. In the late 1980s the addition of David Robinson turned the club back into a contender. And when Tim Duncan arrived, he and Robinson brought a championship home to San Antonio in 1999.

The San Antonio area shares a special bond with the Spurs almost unmatched in the rest of the NBA, partially due to this being the city's only team in any of the four major U.S. professional sports. Spurs players are active members of the San Antonio community, and many former Spurs are still active in San Antonio, like David Robinson with Carver Academy and George Gervin with the George Gervin Youth Center.

In part because of this community involvement, Spurs fans have been among the most loyal in the NBA. The Spurs set several NBA attendance records while playing at the Alamodome, including the largest crowd ever for a NBA Finals game in 1999, and the Spurs continue to sell out the smaller, more intimate AT&T Center (formerly SBC Center) on a regular basis. The Spurs' rallying cry of "Go Spurs, Go!" has endeared itself to the city of San Antonio, and the phrase pops up all over the city as the season progresses into the playoffs and the Spurs inch closer to a possible title.

San Antonio has also garnered praise for the way its citizens celebrate Spurs championships. When the Spurs win a title, San Antonians jam up the streets downtown, march around waving flags, throw confetti and honk car horns until dawn, but with little incidence of crime. The team floats down the San Antonio Riverwalk on boats where fans can view their champions.

A unique part of every Spurs season comes in February when the team is forced into an extended road-trip due to the occupation of its arena by the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. This is informally known as the "Rodeo Road Trip," and a time that typically starts the Spurs' run to the playoffs; indeed, starting in 1999 the Spurs have consistently posted phenomenal road records during this period, including an NBA-record longest single road trip winning streak (8 games, achieved in 2003).  As of the 2007/2008 season, the Spurs have one of the highest winning percentages of any professional team, in any sport, since the turn of the millennium.