Since 1997, the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs have been winners. For twenty one consecutive seasons, the Spurs have qualified for the NBA playoffs in the difficult Western Conference and, in five of those seasons, won the NBA championship.
The names are legendary. David “The Admiral” Robinson, Tim “The Big Fundamental” Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Coach Gregg Popovich have formed the foundation of a franchise which has embraced the team concept of basketball in a city which loves them back even more.
As San Antonio’s fans chanted, “Go, Spurs, Go”, the team changed play in the star-dominated NBA by implementing a deft combination of skilled passing, unselfish team play, and smothering and hustling defense.
Age eventually caught up with Robinson and Duncan as these two NBA greats have retired. Point guard Tony Parker is now 36 years old but has 17 years in the league. Running mate Manu Ginobili is now 40 years old and has been teetering on retirement for the past few seasons.
A new generation of Spurs stars began to emerge after soft-spoken forward Kawhi Leonard was taken with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft out of San Diego State. Known in college for his hustle, defense, and coachability, Leonard wasn’t an offensive star for the Aztecs as he averaged a pedestrian 15 points per game in his sophomore campaign prior to entering the NBA draft.
Under the guiding hand of Coach Pop and the support of San Antonio’s team of future NBA Hall-of-Famers, Kawhi Leonard blossomed into a two-time NBA All-Star who averages over 20 points per game while also being named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year twice as well. After winning his lone NBA championship ring alongside Tim Duncan in 2014, the Spurs success torch looked to be safely passed into the hands of Kawhi Leonard.
In 2015, the Spurs added Portland Trailblazer star forward LaMarcus Aldridge in an effort to give Leonard the closest thing to a Tim Duncan clone in the NBA. The Spurs remained competitive, but the Golden State Warriors zoomed right past San Antonio as the wheels started coming off the bus in the Alamo City.
Kawhi Leonard severely injured his ankle in the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors in 2017 as the Spurs bowed out. This past season, Leonard sustained another injury to his right leg and missed most of the 2017-2018 season.
As doctors cleared Leonard to play in early 2018, Spurs’ teammates such as Tony Parker chided Kawhi Leonard for his hesitancy to rejoin the team for the stretch run. He never took the court again as the Spurs management and Leonard seemed to quietly indicate that a bruised ego may have been more a factor than his leg.
Last weekend, Spurs legend Tony Parker broke the collective hearts of Spurs Nation by accepting an offer from the Charlotte Hornets to move on after 17 seasons with the team. Teammate Manu Ginobili could announce his retirement at any time, too.
Kawhi Leonard remains under contract with the Spurs for another season, but the rumors have been flying that Leonard’s petulant star act could find him traded to another team soon if the price is right.
More rumors are floating that even LaMarcus Aldridge, who came to San Antonio with the goal of winning another championship with Leonard and the legendary Spurs veterans, might be on the trading block, too.
It is looking more likely that the San Antonio Spurs are preparing to quickly morph from 21 seasons as professional sports’ model of perpetual success into a rebuilding franchise intent on starting tossing nearly everyone overboard and starting over again.
Go, Spurs, Go! Watch closely. It looks like they already are.