San Antonio Spurs: Built To Make And Win In Playoffs

Winning Culture

In order to win the championship, you have to make the playoffs. That’s something San Antonio’s done an unthinkable 24 times during the last 25 seasons.

Of course, the only year the Spurs didn’t make the playoffs in that span was when San Antonio lost David Robinson, due to injury, six games in and finished 20-62.

Although the Spurs didn’t have the worst record, San Antonio won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery and selected Duncan No. 1 overall. Coincidentally, the Spurs won 56 games the next season, the same number San Antonio won during the 1989-90 campaign–Robinson’s rookie year–a year after going 21-61.

The Spurs have won 56, 55, 47, 49, 55, 62, 59, 20, 56, 37*, 53, 58, 58, 60, 57, 59, 63, 58, 56, 54, 50, 61, 50*, 58 and 62 games the past 25 regular seasons. The two years with an asterisk were lockout-shortened 50- and 66-game seasons.

San Antonio went 15-2 during the 1999 playoffs capping a 37-13 regular season and went 10-4 during 2012 bowing out to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. OKC snapped a 10-game winning streak by the Spurs, who had won 20 in a row overall, emphatically by taking the last four of the 2012 WCF.