(Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
The storied San Antonio Spurs franchise has welcomed 440 different players over its history. Odds are, you may have forgotten about a good amount of them.
In the wake of the season-suspending COVID-19 virus, San Antonio Spurs fans and basketball lovers alike have been forced to get creative. We’ve found time to study old film, get our minds together, and last but not least, come up with ways to write articles in 2020 with Glenn Robinson and Nick Van Exel as the topic of discussion.
Jokes put aside, that’s the goal for today; some of the game’s greatest players have stood out in the silver-and-black trim, while others had brief runs that only the most hardcore of fans likely remember.
The history of the San Antonio Spurs dates back to 1967 when they were referred to as the Dallas Chaparrals. The franchise is so old that Basketball Reference doesn’t even know what number five of their players played in.
In total, 440 players have laced up as a San Antonio Spur. Some, most probably, with stories of championships to tell, and others with anguish. But over time, essentially in this team-hopping era, we’ve at one point or another likely said to ourselves, “He doesn’t look quite right in that uniform.”
Maybe for you, it was seeing Patrick Ewing join the bad knee brothers in Orlando with Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. Perhaps it was seeing Allen Iverson, serving up the last of his buckets in Memphis. But as we’ll discuss today, the Spurs have their fair share of players who fit that billing as well.
But first, some honorable mentions that may have slipped your mind: Michael Finley, Calvin Natt, George Karl, Paul Pressey, Tracy McGrady (probably didn’t forget this one), Sleepy Floyd, Tyrone Corbin, Vinny Del Negro, and Reggie Williams, among others.
In continuing what has become somewhat of a HoopsHabit tradition, here are 15 players you have forgotten in San Antonio.