1997–98 San Antonio Spurs season

1997–98 San Antonio Spurs season
Tim Duncan's rookie season
Head coach	Gregg Popovich
Owner(s)	Peter Holt
Arena	Alamodome
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Southwest, KRRT, KSAT 12
Radio	KRIO

The 1997–98 San Antonio Spurs season was the 31st as a franchise, the 25th in San Antonio, and the 22nd season in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] After finishing with the third-worst record in 1996–97, the Spurs won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery, dubbed as the "Tim Duncan sweepstakes."^[2] The Spurs finished second in the Midwest Division with a 56–26 record as Duncan was named Rookie of The Year, and was selected to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game along with David Robinson. In the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns 3–1 in the Western Conference First Round, but lost 4–1 to the Utah Jazz in the semifinals. Following the season, Vinny Del Negro signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Chuck Person signed with the Charlotte Hornets.

The team's season roster is featured in the video game NBA 2K16.^[3]

NBA Draft

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	1	Tim Duncan	PF/C	United States Virgin Islands	Wake Forest

Roster

San Antonio Spurs roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
3.0 !SF	9	USA !	Burton, Willie	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Minnesota
2.0 !SG	15	USA !	Del Negro, Vinny	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	North Carolina State
4.5 !PF	21	VIR !	Duncan, Tim	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Wake Forest
3.0 !SF	32	USA !	Elliott, Sean	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Arizona
1.0 !PG	4	USA !	Geary, Reggie	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Arizona
4.5 !PF	7	USA !	Herrera, Carl	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Houston
2.0 !SG	2	USA !	Jackson, Jaren	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Georgetown
1.0 !PG	6	USA !	Johnson, Avery	7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Southern
4.5 !PF	54	USA !	Lohaus, Brad	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Iowa
6.0 !C	41	USA !	Perdue, Will	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Vanderbilt
3.0 !SF	45	USA !	Person, Chuck	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Auburn
6.0 !C	50	USA !	Robinson, David	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Navy
4.5 !PF	31	USA !	Rose, Malik	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Drexel
3.0 !SF	3	USA !	Williams, Monty	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Notre Dame

Head coach

Gregg Popovich

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Regular season

Tim Duncan

The Spurs were coming off a poor 1996–97 NBA season; in which their best player, David Robinson—himself a number one draft pick in 1987—was sidelined for most of the year with an injury. The Spurs had finished with a 20–62 win-loss record.^[4] However, as the 1997–98 NBA season approached, the Spurs were considered a notable threat in the NBA. With both an experienced center in Robinson and the number one pick in Duncan, the Spurs featured one of the best frontcourts in the NBA. Duncan and Robinson became known as the "Twin Towers", having earned a reputation for their exceptional defense close to the basket, forcing opponents to take lower percentage shots from outside. From the beginning, Duncan established himself as a quality player: in his second-ever road game, he grabbed 22 rebounds against opposing Chicago Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman, a multiple rebounding champion and NBA Defensive Player of the Year.^[5] Later, when Duncan played against opposing Houston Rockets Hall-of-Fame power forward Charles Barkley, Barkley was so impressed he said: "I have seen the future and he wears number 21 [Duncan's jersey number]."^[6] In his rookie season, Duncan lived up the expectations of being the number one draft pick, starting in all 82 regular-season games, and averaging 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. His defensive contributions ensured that he was elected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and was also named NBA Rookie of the Year. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich lauded Duncan's mental toughness, stating his rookie's "demeanor was singularly remarkable", Duncan always "put things into perspective" and never got "too upbeat or too depressed."^[7] Center Robinson was equally impressed with Duncan: "He's the real thing. I'm proud of his attitude and effort. He gives all the extra effort and work and wants to become a better player."^[8]

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17	26–15	19–22	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21	24–17	17–24	14–10
Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42	13–28	7–34	9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43	14–27	5–36	4–20
Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51	9–32	2–39	3–21

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Phoenix Suns vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference First Round (San Antonio won 3-1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (PHO-SAS)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 23	Phoenix	96	San Antonio	102	0-1	America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona	1	TNT 10:30et
2	April 25	Phoenix	108	San Antonio	101	1-1	America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona	2	NBC 3:30et
3	April 27	San Antonio	100	Phoenix	88	1-2	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas	3	TNT 9:30et
4	April 29	San Antonio	99	Phoenix	80	1-3	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas	4	TBS 8:00et
San Antonio wins series 3–1

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4-2)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTA-SAS)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 5	Utah	83	San Antonio	82	1-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1	TNT 10:30et
2	May 7	Utah	109	San Antonio	106	2-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2	TNT 10:30et
3	May 9	San Antonio	86	Utah	64	2-1	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas	3	NBC 3:30et
4	May 10	San Antonio	73	Utah	82	3-1	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas	4	TNT 9:00et
5	May 12	Utah	87	San Antonio	77	4-1	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	5	TNT 8:00et
Utah wins series 4–1

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alexander, Cory !Cory Alexander	37	3	13.5	.414	.313	.676	1.3	1.9	.7	.1	4.5
Burton, Willie !Willie Burton	13	0	3.3	.381	.333	.667	.7	.1	.2	.2	2.1
Del Negro, Vinny !Vinny Del Negro	54	38	31.9	.441	.436	.796	2.8	3.4	.7	.1	9.5
Duncan, Tim !Tim Duncan	82	82	39.1	.549	.000	.662	11.9	2.7	.7	2.5	21.1
Geary, Reggie !Reggie Geary	62	2	11.0	.331	.300	.500	1.1	1.2	.6	.2	2.5
Elliott, Sean !Sean Elliott	36	36	28.1	.403	.378	.718	3.4	1.7	.7	.4	9.3
Herrera, Carl !Carl Herrera	58	1	8.9	.434	.000	.409	1.6	.4	.3	.2	2.9
Jackson, Jaren !Jaren Jackson	82	45	27.1	.394	.377	.797	2.6	1.9	.7	.1	8.8
Johnson, Avery !Avery Johnson	75	73	35.7	.478	.154	.726	2.0	7.9	1.1	.2	10.2
Lohaus, Brad !Brad Lohaus	9	0	11.3	.333	.286	.333	1.3	.6	.1	.2	2.1
Perdue, Will !Will Perdue	79	30	18.9	.549	.	.526	6.8	.7	.3	.6	5.0
Person, Chuck !Chuck Person	61	11	23.9	.359	.344	.757	3.3	1.4	.5	.2	6.7
Robinson, David !David Robinson	73	73	33.7	.511	.250	.735	10.6	2.7	.9	2.6	21.6
Rose, Malik !Malik Rose	53	0	8.1	.434	.333	.639	1.7	.4	.4	.1	3.0
Williams, Monty !Monty Williams	72	16	18.3	.448	.500	.670	2.5	1.2	.5	.3	6.3

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Del Negro, Vinny !Vinny Del Negro	9	3	31.4	.481	.200	.941	2.7	3.2	.9	.	10.7
Duncan, Tim !Tim Duncan	9	9	41.6	.521	.	.667	9.0	1.9	.6	2.6	20.7
Geary, Reggie !Reggie Geary	7	0	6.6	.429	.250	.500	.3	.9	.1	.	1.3
Herrera, Carl !Carl Herrera	5	0	5.0	.333	.	.	.8	.2	.	.	.4
Jackson, Jaren !Jaren Jackson	9	8	35.4	.341	.305	.737	4.3	1.6	.6	.1	10.2
Johnson, Avery !Avery Johnson	9	9	38.0	.604	.	.667	1.4	6.1	1.0	.	17.3
Lohaus, Brad !Brad Lohaus	4	0	2.5	.	.	.	.5	.3	.3	.	.
Perdue, Will !Will Perdue	9	7	21.2	.333	.	.857	6.7	.1	.7	1.0	4.0
Person, Chuck !Chuck Person	9	0	21.8	.340	.350	1.000	3.0	.8	.4	.	5.8
Robinson, David !David Robinson	9	9	39.2	.425	.	.635	14.1	2.6	1.2	3.3	19.4
Rose, Malik !Malik Rose	5	0	3.6	.667	.	.500	1.4	.2	.2	.	2.0
Williams, Monty !Monty Williams	5	0	5.6	.625	.	.667	1.2	.2	.	.	2.4

Award winners

Tim Duncan, Forward, NBA Rookie of the Year
Tim Duncan, Forward, All-NBA First Team
Tim Duncan, Forward, All-NBA Rookie First Team
Tim Duncan, Forward, All-NBA Second Defensive Team
David Robinson, Center, All-NBA Second Team
David Robinson, Center, All-NBA Second Defensive Team

References

↑ 1997-98 San Antonio Spurs
↑ "Spurs Win the Tim Duncan Sweepstakes". New York Times. May 19, 1997.
↑ Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
↑ 1996-97 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed 19 April 2007.
↑ Kernan, Kevin (2000). Slam Duncan. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-58261-179-2.
↑ Kernan, Kevin (2000). Slam Duncan. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-58261-179-2.
↑ Kernan, Kevin (2000). Slam Duncan. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-58261-179-2.
↑ Kernan, Kevin (2000). Slam Duncan. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-58261-179-2.

1997–98 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

San Antonio Spurs

Founded in 1967 Formerly the Dallas Chaparrals (1967–1970, 1971–1973) and the Texas Chaparrals (1970–1971) Based in San Antonio, Texas

Franchise	Franchise ABA–NBA merger All-time roster Head coaches Seasons Draft history Current season

Arenas	State Fair Coliseum Moody Coliseum Tarrant County Coliseum Lubbock Municipal Coliseum HemisFair Arena Alamodome AT&T Center

D-League affiliate	Austin Spurs

Administration	Owner Peter Holt General Manager R. C. Buford Head Coach Gregg Popovich

Retired numbers	00 6 12 13 21 (To be retired December 18, 2016) 32 44 50

Hall of Famers	George Gervin Moses Malone Dominique Wilkins David Robinson Artis Gilmore Dennis Rodman

NBA Championships (5)	1999 2003 2005 2007 2014

Western Conference Championships (6)	1999 2003 2005 2007 2013 2014

Rivals	Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns

Mascot	The Coyote

Culture and lore	The Twin Towers The Big Three Memorial Day Miracle

Media	TV KENS KMYS Fox Sports Southwest Radio KCOR WOAI Announcers Bill Land Sean Elliott Bill Schoening Paul Castro

Dallas / Texas Chaparrals–San Antonio Spurs seasons

Franchise: Dallas Chaparrals (1967–1970, 1971–73); Texas Chaparrals (1970–71); San Antonio Spurs (1973–present)

1960s

1970s

1970s

1980s

1990s

1998–99

2000s

2002–03

2004–05

2006–07

2010s

2013–14

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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