The San Antonio Spurs have been a roadblock for elite groups since they grew to become operational in 1967, then because the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA. Fifty-seven years later, the Silver and Black are five-time NBA champions and one of many envied organizations in professional basketball.
Stacking up these titles was not simple. The Spurs needed to defeat nice groups led by distinctive gamers to get there, however they nonetheless got here up brief many different years due to the greatness of their rivals. A few of these opponents are the very best gamers within the sport’s historical past. On high of smashing Silver and Black hearts, battling them made the Spurs higher and introduced additional pleasure to these seasons.
Let’s evaluate the foes who gave the Spurs the deepest cuts.
Honorable Point out
Ray Allen
Ray Allen’s trifecta is probably the most catastrophic second in Spurs Playoff historical past and one of many defining highlights of the NBA Finals. Late in Sport 6 of the 2013 championship collection, the result appeared so bleak for the Warmth that the NBA had already surrounded the courtroom with restrictive tape to stop followers from storming the courtroom.
But, the Spurs’ errors left them with a pulse, beginning with Duncan out of the sport. Subsequent, the Spurs had been forward by three factors and will have fouled to ship the Warmth to the road. Anyhow, LeBron James missed a left-wing 3-pointer and Chris Bosh, an underwhelming rebounder, kicked the miss to the nook and Allen shot over Tony Parker to tie with 5 seconds left.
Allen averaged 10.3 factors, making 54.5 % of his 3-point makes an attempt in that collection and 9.8 factors on 40.9 % deep taking pictures within the following Finals.
Derek Fisher
In Sport 5 of the 2004 second spherical, Fisher hit probably the most heart-shattering and jaw-dropping game-winners in NBA historical past.
With 0.4 seconds left, Gary Payton inbounded from the sideline to Fisher, who immediately fired on the catch over Manu Ginóbili whereas turning. Fisher and the Lakers ran for the locker room as the group stood in numb shock. This shot is why most individuals don’t bear in mind the lengthy fadeaway Duncan swished over Shaquille O’Neal on the play earlier than.
Tracy McGrady
On Dec. 9, 2004, Tracy McGrady’s internet hosting Houston Rockets had been down double-digits to the Spurs in rubbish time. Then, he began firing trays, racking up 13 factors within the final 35 seconds to grab a win from the grips of defeat. It’s probably the most outrageous endings to a recreation ever.
10. Elvin Hayes
Elvin Hayes was one of many standout huge males of his period. In 1978 and 1979, he led the Washington Bullets over the Spurs within the Playoffs. He punished the Spurs on fastbreak performs, well timed cuts, putbacks, and post-ups.
Sport 2 in 1978 was his most interesting second enjoying the Spurs. The Bullets had misplaced the earlier match at HemisFair Area, however Hayes acquired payback, scoring 28 marks on 13 of 21 makes an attempt, recovering 11 boards and denied six photographs in a four-point victory. He was the highest participant within the closeout Sport 6, too.
In 13 postseason video games (8-5) versus the Spurs, Hayes recorded 22.7 factors on 48.6 % taking pictures, with 14.8 rebounds and a pair of.2 blocks.
9. Steve Nash
Steve Nash was probably the most clever ballers the Spurs ever competed in opposition to. He was a rival eight instances, rising victorious as soon as. Who is aware of what would’ve occurred if Robert Horry hadn’t hip-checked him into the printed desk when the Suns had been contenders in 2007? The motion brought about Boris Diaw and Amar’e Stoudemire to breach “the speedy neighborhood of their bench,” getting them suspended for Sport 5. Nash performed 45 minutes within the subsequent match in an in depth loss.
The 2010 Suns later broke by means of, sweeping the Spurs in spherical two. Nash led that unit and uncorked that encounter with a 33-point outburst in Phoenix, lighting up the weak perimeter protection together with his jumper and dribble. He additionally outplayed Tony Parker as a scorer and facilitator.
In 37 postseason bouts, Nash collected 284 dimes versus 108 turnovers.
8. Moses Malone
The Chairman of the Boards (Malone) was an unsolvable drawback for the Spurs whereas he performed for the Houston Rockets and was whooping them earlier than they acquired Artis Gilmore to work as the middle. He caught all of the schemes up shut, opening the ground for his teammates and averaged 7.3 offensive rebounds in 10 matches in two triumphant collection in 1980 and 1981.
The worst injury he did to the Spurs was within the shut out Sport 3 in 1980, a 21-point win. He destroyed all the things in his path, accumulating 37 factors on 14 of twenty-two makes an attempt, with 20 rebounds.
7. Karl Malone
The Mailman challenged the Spurs in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2004, serving to the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers win every time. At 6 ‘9, with a 250-pound metal physique, Malone was a face-up and submit monster. Even for Duncan or Robinson, Malone was not a straightforward matchup to comprise as a result of his jumper prolonged to mid-range.
Within the first spherical versus the Spurs in 1994, Malone was a greater huge man than Robinson, outscoring and outworking him on the glass. Malone’s energy helped him beat Robinson for her positioning, too.
Moreover, the Spurs’ lack of offensive choices in that encounter allowed the Jazz to load up on Robinson. The Admiral logged 20 factors per recreation, making simply 41.1 % of his area targets in distinction to Malone’s 29.3 marks on 48.2 % taking pictures. In 24 prior Playoff video games, Robinson averaged 56.1 % of his tries.
Then the Lakers signed Malone for his final experience in summer season 2003 after the Spurs beat them and did the identical to the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets for the title. The rationale Malone appealed to the Lakers and have become one in every of their most dear gamers that yr is due to his pick-and-roll protection. The Purple and Gold wanted a high-level huge man defender for that set as a result of O’Neal was notoriously dangerous at masking this motion, and Parker and Duncan uncovered him in spherical two in 2003.
Malone’s report versus the Spurs within the Playoffs is 15-6. He elbow can be 1-0 vs. Robinson’s head.
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Tower of Energy recorded 21.1 factors per recreation on 55.3 % accuracy, with 6.6 rebounds and a pair of.2 assists, by no means dropping a collection in opposition to the Spurs in 4 tries. Whilst age slowed him down, Abdul-Jabbar would set up place on the low block and spin for a layup or shoot his trademarked cruise missile if he couldn’t again down his man. Defensively, he created chaos with assist facet blocks and contests that sparked showtime’s fastbreak.
Abdul-Jabbar didn’t simply play nicely in opposition to the Spurs, he outperformed the A-Practice Artis Gilmore within the 1983 and 1986 Playoff matchups. Gilmore, one of many strongest males who ever performed professional basketball, was acquired to neutralize him in 1982, however the plan failed.
5. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers previous the Spurs thrice between 2001 and 2004. The Spurs swept his Purple and Gold squad in 1999 and ended their quest for a fourth straight title in 2003. For a time, O’Neal’s offense was so dominant it might offset his shortcomings on protection.
He was the hub of the triangle assault. He might pivot to the rim or overpower anybody at shut vary. Even Duncan caught a couple of elbows making an attempt to wall him up. Stopping O’Neal required fixed double-teaming, however he was a sensible participant who might get the move off earlier than getting in hassle.
His high exhibiting in opposition to the Spurs was Sport 3 of the 2001 West Semifinals. He was unstoppable on the hoop, combining for 11 of 13 makes an attempt within the first and third quarters.
O’Neal registered 22.4 factors on 53 % accuracy, with 12.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a pair of.8 blocks throughout 30 Playoff video games going through the Spurs.
And except for tormenting the Spurs’ protection, O’Neal fabricated a narrative in his e-book, Shaq Talks Again (2001), about Admiral David Robinson denying him an autograph as a younger man, which he later admitted he made up for consideration.
4. Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant and O’Neal performed the Spurs in 5 collection, profitable three. In Sport 4 of the 2002 West Semifinals, Bryant hit the game-winning shot after practically dropping the ball on an isolation set in opposition to Bruce Bowen. Fisher recovered the ball and bricked a mid-range jumper. To the horror of the house crowd, Bryant leaped for an offensive rebound, snatching it one-handed, landed, and went again up for a floater in Admiral Robinson’s face.
After the Diesel (O’Neal) and Black Mamba’s (Bryant) break up, the latter led his Lakers previous Duncan’s crew in 5 video games within the 2008 West Finals. He feasted contained in the arc in that collection, changing 58.3 % of his two-pointers. Bruce Bowen, a First-Workforce All-NBA Defender that yr, was locking and trailing nicely and contesting on time however was helpless when Bryant acquired within the zone.
Bryant famously took over the fourth quarter of Sport 5, amassing 17 factors on a flurry of leap photographs and rim assaults. That efficiency catapulted his crew to the NBA Finals.
3. Kevin Durant
The Slim Reaper’s all-time Playoff report in opposition to the Spurs is 18-9, averaging 28 factors on a 62.3 true taking pictures share, with 7.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per recreation. His mark in opposition to Tim Duncan is 10-8 throughout three collection within the postseason.
The Spurs had been in competition for a title in 2012 and 2016. Durant and his crew stopped them each instances. He had masterful performances in San Antonio in every collection and was age 22 on the primary event. The Silver and Black defeated his Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder crew within the 2014 Western Convention Finals then went on to blast the Miami Warmth for the NBA championship.
At 6 ‘11, with a 7’ 5 wingspan, guard mobility and historic deep vary, Durant was the Spurs’ greatest matchup nightmare except for O’Neal and LeBron James. The discharge level and quickness of his jumper overmatched defenders due to its separation.
He was additionally elite late in matches. Keep in mind Sport 2 of the 2016 Western Convention Semifinals on the AT&T Middle. Durant was implacable, efficiently firing over opponents and dunking on the break. It was an epic late duel between him and LaMarcus Aldridge. Durant countered LMA’s 13 factors, scoring 10 fourth-quarter digits, ending with 28 on 57.9 % taking pictures and a victory to separate the collection going again to Oklahoma Metropolis.
2. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki and his Dallas Mavericks performed the Spurs in six collection, profitable two and totaling a 15-18 report. He tattooed painful recollections for the Spurs and its followers in Sport 7 of spherical two in 2006 on the Spurs’ home. He denied the champs a possibility to maintain enjoying for the repeat. The German Race Automotive kicked off that contest by going through up Duncan, baiting him right into a faux and blowing by for a dunk.
As the sport continued, Nowitzki attacked the basket on extra face-up performs and related on faders plus jumpers from the baseline and elbows.
The crucial play executed late to drive additional time was his as nicely. Because the Mavericks had been down three factors with 25 seconds left, Nowitzki attacked with Bowen on his hip, ending a delicate lay-in with contact. Then he stepped to the road and the ball kissed nylon to tie.
Duncan had 41, Ginóbili added 23 and Parker dropped 24 marks, however it wasn’t sufficient.
In that collection, Nowitzki put up 27.7 factors per recreation on 52.7 % taking pictures, with 13.3 rebounds and a pair of.7 assists.
His final collection versus the Silver and Black was the 2014 first spherical. Even at age 35, Nowitzki’s mid-range taking pictures gave the backline protection issues.
1. LeBron James
The King and his courtroom battled the Spurs in three championship rounds, profitable the center change in 2013. His pace, measurement and energy in a 6 ‘9 construct made it troublesome to remain in entrance of the ball or disrupt his drive shortly sufficient.
His most interesting second in opposition to the Spurs was the fourth quarter of Sport 6 of the 2013 Finals. James led the Warmth again from behind double-digits, scoring 16 fourth-quarter factors and organising two teammates. With out his work, there isn’t any Allen shot to tie. On high of that, he had his solely triple-double of the season that night time.
Within the final minute of Sport 7, Duncan missed a close-range shot with the a lot smaller Shane Battier guarding him and didn’t make the tip-in because the Spurs had been down two factors. James responded, hitting the go-head mid-range jumper over Leonard on the following possession to safe back-to-back championships for the Miami Warmth.
James totaled 25.3 factors per recreation on 47.6 % taking pictures, with 10.9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Six years prior, Duncan informed James that the NBA can be his league following the Spurs’ Sport 4 victory to comb his Cleveland Cavaliers within the Finals. In Duncan’s case, it hurts to be proper.
