The Incredible Story of the Spurs’ First Championship
The 1998-99 NBA season was memorable in many ways, starting with the fact that it did not actually start in 1998. The season didn’t begin until February 5th, 1999. 50 games in 90 nights. Before DNP-RESTs. Tons of back-to-backs with three nights in a row a common occurrence. It would be a grueling sprint to the playoffs for every team involved. Yet, despite the season’s truncated length due to a lockout imposed by NBA owners, the most memorable part of the ’99 season for San Antonians was far more positive. ’99 would mark the year the Spurs franchise won its first championship.
Knowing how this story ends doesn’t detract from the drama and triumph of one of the most beloved Spurs teams in the franchise’s 50-year history, a team who were quite literally one game away from the history of their franchise being totally different just one month into the season. The dynasty, the rings, the legends that made this team uniquely beloved – it was perhaps a players-only meeting on a bus outside of Houston that might have saved it all. But who needs what-might-have-been when the real story is as incredible as the ’99 Spurs?
The ’99 season started late, with just a 12-day training camp. It took time for playes to get in shape physically and mentally. Teams across the league scrambled to put rosters together and offense suffered. But none of this mattered to Spurs fans. When the ’98 season finished, a good Spurs team had bowed out in the Western Conference Semis, 4 games to 1 by the Utah Jazz. Still, heading into the ’99 season, expectations for the Spurs were high. The team had David Robinson, after all, as well as recently acquired Antonio Daniels, second-year sensation in Tim Duncan, journeyman and feel-good story Avery Johnson, and soon-to-be miracle worker Sean Elliott. The expectations were magnified by a perception shared across the league that the Spurs didn’t quite have what it took to become a championship team, a perception seemingly supported by the fact that the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs every year between 1990 and 1998, except for ’96-’97, when numerous injuries kept the team out of the postseason.
When the Spurs opened the ’99 season 6-8, Johnson called a players-only meeting on the team bus before their game against the Rockets in attempt to right the ship. This meeting now seems legendary, demarcating the turning point in this historic season. On March 2, after the fateful meeting, the Spurs went out and pulverized the Rockets 99-82. They wouldn’t lose again for 17 days, finishing the season with a staggering 37-13 record, a .740 winning percentage.
The Spurs’ biggest hurdle was yet to come, the postseason, the time where Spurs fans were so accustomed to watching their beloved team make an early exit year after heartbreaking year. This time, however, instead of capitulating to the competition, Spurs dominated, only losing two games in the entire postseason. While it feels like all is well that ends well 23 years later, at the time, the mood was tense. The Spurs lost game 2 of the opening series to Minnesota and the prevailing feeling was resignation. Here we go again. But fate had a different idea.
“You couldn't Make This Up.”
June 1999, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich addresses the team huddle during a time out in a NBA Finals Game against the New York Knicks at the Alamodome.
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Every legendary season needs a miracle moment. The ’99 Spurs’ moment came on May 31st, 1999. After dispensing with the Timberwolves, the Spurs had swept the Lakers, with the last victory coming before a stunned sold-out audience at the Forum. Now, only the Portland Trail Blazers stood between the Spurs and a trip to the NBA Finals. Game One the Spurs won handily enough, but the Trail Blazers came out swinging in Game Two. With 12 seconds left in the game, the Spurs hadn’t held lead once, and now trailed by 85-83.
When Spurs guard Mario Elie inbounded the ball to forward Sean Elliott, no one could possibly know they were about to witness one of the most famous shots in NBA history, the Memorial Day Miracle. Off balance and nearly falling out of bounds, Elliott sunk an unlikely 3-pointer, giving the Spurs their first lead of the night, one they held onto for the remaining 9 seconds of the game. The Spurs went on to sweep the Trail Blazers and met the hobbled Knicks in the Finals, where they lost once, but closed out their championship-winning season with a victory in Madison Square Garden.
For many, the ’99 championship was seen as a redemption arc for Avery Johnson. It was Johnson who had rallied the team before the team went on its historic run. It was Johnson, a journeyman twice cut from the Spurs, who changed history when he hit the go ahead shot in the final game against the Knicks. Days later, as he descended from the the Spurs chartered plane to the roar of 6,000 fans, Johnson personified the redemption and resilience of an entire franchise. It still gives Spurs fans chills to this day.
Led by new big man Tim Duncan, the Spurs would go on to be a powerhouse dynasty, winning the NBA championship in 2003, 2005, and 2007. But nothing is ever as sweet as the first time, especially when that championship-winning season reads like a Pulitzer-prize winning narrative of triumph and redemption.
Like Spurs assistant coach in ’99 Mike Budenholzer said of their championship, “You couldn't make up the things that happened. It was a crazy year."
As we celebrate 50 years of Spurs, here’s to many more to come.
Every legendary season needs a miracle moment. The ’99 Spurs’ moment came on May 31st, 1999.
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“You couldn't Make This Up.”
The Incredible Story of the Spurs’ First Championship
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“You couldn't
“You couldn't