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

No. 15: Mike D’Antoni (1976-77)

Yes, the Mike D’Antoni. Some three decades later, D’Antoni would become the antithesis to everything San Antonio valued on-court. But during his four-year, 180-game cameo as a professional, he crossed paths with the team that would later serve as perhaps his greatest archrival. On five different occasions, D’Antoni has coached teams that were roadblocked by the Spurs, but prior to, his American professional basketball tenure ended after just a two-game stretch with San Antonio in 1976-77.

There’s not much — the surface at least — to make of D’Antoni’s 540-second playing career with the Spurs, but a quick glance down the roster, and it’s not difficult to see where the roots of his coaching future blossomed.

The ABA-NBA merger and earmarking a foundation for a championship-caliber team during George Gervin’s prime took priority. But, the future 2-time NBA Coach of the Year shared the sidelines with other future coaches, such as George Karl and Mack Calvin.

The writing was on the wall — or chalkboard in this case — for D’Antoni, in playing under head coach Doug Moe, who, surprise, surprise, went on to win Coach of the Year in Denver for paced the league with speed and offensive brilliance, and made a living out of finding ways to lose postseason games despite scoring 120+ points.

After being cut by San Antonio, D’Antoni would leave for Italy. Even after botched return trips to the NBA that D’Antoni admitted killed his confidence, he would be named the Italian League’s best point guard in 1990. It’s become somewhat of a minor chapter of a future Hall of Fame coach’s storybook career, but everything eventually came full circle.