The San Antonio Spurs, rating 3.21 (in the NBA since 1976-77) Like the Lakers, the Spurs have been ever present in the post-season, missing the playoffs one season at a time and bouncing back in for a long stretch of dates in the late spring over a series of years. They currently hold the NBA record for fewest playoffs missed with 4 in their 34 year history in the league. This is because of two things. They were another franchise that was able to come out of the gate running, thanks to their previous experience with the ABA. The other thing is that the Spurs have put together a strategy: A) Win. B) If you can't win, get the #1 pick and get a hall-of-fame big man that will ensure "A". They've used this method twice, and it has done wonders for them. Beyond their regular season success, they have been a consistent winner in the playoffs. They have four NBA Titles in four tries that they can only win in odd years, which means they can't manage to repeat. But if the Celtics can have a dynasty in the 80's without repeating, then so can the Spurs. Some claim that the beginning of their only dynasty started as far back as the 1999 lockout season where they won their first title, letting the Lakers have a three-peat before picking back up again and winning in 2002-03, 2004-05, and 2006-07. They also had a winning stretch from 1978-79 to 1982-83 getting to the conference finals three times (in both conferences, no less), and a semi-decent run from 1989-90 to 1995-96 where, even though newly acquired David Robinson was working out, they discovered that they were missing something. "Oh! Let's go get that Tim Duncan." Since they are in the Western Conference, they of course have their own hatred toward the Lakers, having been knocked out of the Western Conference Finals four times by them. But they also have rivalries with the Mavericks, the Suns, and the Jazz. San Antonio, you are the hope for all small market franchises. Now, on to the Spurs top 10%: When you get passed the Lakers and the Celtics, the jostling for the top spot for best player among the remaining teams tend to come as less of a surprise. So it should be obvious to many of you that Tim Duncan and David Robinson are the one-two punch in San Antone. George Gervin is the number three Spur, followed by Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Since the Spurs were an ABA team and a lot of their players carried over into the NBA, I'm allowing their ABA players in on this list even though I'm not counting the ABA toward the team's success. (Note: this is actually the entire list of players who qualify for the top 10%, two short of the 35 needed. The Spurs seem to have quite a bit of turnover on their roster for many of their non-star players.) All-Spurs Team C - David Robinson F - Tim Duncan F - George Gervin G - Tony Parker G - Manu Ginobili B - Sean Elliott B - Bruce Bowen B - Avery Johnson Top 10% out of 352, (current players noted with asterisk - *) 1. 220.765 Tim Duncan 1997-98 to 2009-10 - * 2. 172.591 David Robinson 1989-90 to 2002-03 3. 116.726 George Gervin 1973-74 to 1984-85 4. 100.974 Tony Parker 2001-02 to 2009-10 - * 5. 84.216 Manu Ginobili 2002-03 to 2009-10 - * 6. 77.288 Sean Elliott 1989-90 to 1992-93, 1994-95 to 2000-01 7. 73.660 Bruce Bowen 2001-02 to 2008-09 8. 71.757 Avery Johnson 1990-91 to 1992-93, 1994-95 to 2000-01 9. 63.115 Malik Rose 1997-98 to 2004-05 10. 60.326 Alvin Robertson 1984-85 to 1988-89 11. 58.274 Larry Kenon 1975-76 to 1979-80 12. 58.214 Johnny Moore 1980-81 to 1987-88, 1989-90 13. 52.343 James Silas 1972-73 to 1980-81 14. 52.103 Billy Paultz 1975-76 to 1979-80, 1982-83 15. 51.411 Mike Mitchell 1981-82 to 1987-88 16. 50.608 Willie Anderson 1988-89 to 1994-95 17. 49.213 Terry Cummings 1989-90 to 1994-95 18. 48.293 Artis Gilmore 1982-83 to 1986-87 19. 46.584 Mark Olberding 1975-76 to 1981-82 20. 45.383 Vinny Del Negro 1992-93 to 1997-98 21. 44.278 Robert Horry 2003-04 to 2007-08 22. 44.271 Michael Finley 2005-06 to 2009-10 23. 42.798 Coby Dietrick 1972-73 to 1978-79, 1982-83 24. 42.706 Mike Gale 1975-76 to 1980-81 25. 42.008 Brent Barry 2004-05 to 2007-08 26. 40.503 Gene Banks 1981-82 to 1984-85 27. 38.511 Rich Jones 1969-70 to 1974-75 28. 38.322 John Beasley 1967-68 to 1974-75 29. 30.628 Cincinnatus Powell 1967-68 to 1969-70 30. 30.342 Dave Greenwood 1985-86 to 1988-89, 1990-91 31. 27.907 Joe Hamilton 1970-71 to 1973-74 32. 25.461 Glen Combs 1968-69 to 1970-71 33. 20.733 Charles Beasley 1967-68 to 1970-71 Honorable Mention: 36.061 Matt Bonner 2006-07 to 2009-10 - * (Would be 29th. Needs about 1,400 minutes, two seasons, or 400 minutes and one more title in order to make the list)
