San Antonio Spurs: 15 players you may have forgot played in San Antonio

No. 1: Dominique Wilkins (1996-97)

In closing the list, we have not only one of the greatest players of all-time, but one of the great redemption stories to boot. In his heyday, Wilkins boasted a claim as one of the year-to-year five best players in the Association. Despite being overshadowed by other pantheon legends, arguably no player offered us more highlight dunks, and only one player provided more buckets (you know who).

Having never had a teammate make an All-Star Game with him more than once, the pairing of Dominique Wilkins and David Robinson could’ve done damage if they crossed paths sooner. Instead, the Spurs signed him to a veteran’s minimum in 1996-97, allowing him to become the ultimate trivia question at parties: Who led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring in the year before Tim Duncan?

Signed to merely a backup to Sean Elliott, Wilkins averaged 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds on 41.7 percent shooting for a 20-win Spurs team, toiling after the loss of David Robinson.

Still, it told a story of vindication of Wilkins, who left the NBA and America altogether to win a championship in Greece — and yes, his nickname was absolutely Nique the Greek —  before coming back to the NBA to prove his worth once more.

San Antonio was the first footnote in Wilkins’ there-and-back approach of leaving the league for overseas play. These days, you sort of wonder: if he could’ve kept that production up for one more season, could he have been the fulcrum the Spurs’ bench needed in 1998 to usurp Utah? With only a single player averaging over four points off the bench, the San Antonio Spurs could’ve certainly used someone who averaged 24.8 points nightly for 17 years.

I think we all knew a guy, too.