The Greatest Dynasty That NO ONE Talks About

Until 2025, they held the record for the best win percentage in NBA history. Their coach, Greg Papovich, is the winningest coach of all time. Coach Papovich is not the Spurs. He's the NBA. From 1997, when they've drafted the best power forward ever, you hear a lot of other people say Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever play a game. I agree with that. To 2017, the San Antonio Spurs won 50 plus games in 17 consecutive non-lockout seasons. And they never beat themselves, and that is exhausting for the other team. For 20 years, the Spurs were a synonym for excellence, discipline, teamwork, unselfishness, and finding great players in the draft. We used to call it the program. But how did the Spurs maintain that level of success for that long? This is the story of the Spurs way and how one small market team became the longest tenure dynasty in NBA history. The Spurs were founded in Dallas in 1967 and were named the Chapels, competing in the ABA. In 1973, the franchise relocated to San Antonio and was renamed the Spurs. Three years later, they were one of four ABA franchises that joined the NBA when the leagues merged. But unlike the Pacers and the Nets, who struggled for years after joining the NBA, the Spurs hit the ground running, qualifying for the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons. Led by the Iceman, George Gervin, the Spurs made three conference finals in that span with Gervin winning four scoring titles. However, when Gervin and center artist Gilmore got older and left the team, San Antonio missed the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history. But in return, they won the ultimate prize for all losing teams, the number one draft pick in the 1987 draft. The San Antonio Spurs select David Robinson from Navy. And after serving two years in the Navy, the Admiral finally arrived and immediately transformed the franchise. The Spurs won 56 games in 1990, which was 35 wins more than the previous year and set the record for the biggest turnaround in NBA history. With Robinson, Terry Cummings, and Shawn Elliot, San Antonio became a perennial contender. But they could never get over the hump and make the finals. The Admiral was winning all individual awards. But even with the addition of Dennis Rodman, the furthest the Spurs went was the conference finals in 1995 when they got destroyed by Hakee and the Rockets.