From the Archives: What Spurs History Says About This Roster

By the Spurs Nightly Desk · Thursday, September 24

San Antonio is still at 0-0 with camp underway and no games played. The franchise's history of turnarounds and identity offers the clearest lens on this roster until results arrive.

Spurs Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Is Wembanyama part of a Spurs lineage of franchise-changing big men?

David Robinson arrived in 1989-90 after the 1987 draft lottery and his Navy service, sparking the biggest one-season turnaround in NBA history. Tim Duncan followed in 1997, launching five championships under Gregg Popovich. Victor Wembanyama, the first overall pick in 2023, is the roster's centerpiece entering his third season, the latest top pick asked to reshape the team around him.

Does this team still play like the Kawhi-era Spurs?

San Antonio's identity was set during the Kawhi Leonard years: fast pace, unselfish passing, defensive accountability. Last season's team lived up to it, posting a 118.7 offensive rating and a 110.4 defensive rating, ranking third in the league in both, with an 8.4 net rating and a 62-20 record. The system has outlasted the player who defined it.

How does the Thunder rivalry compare to the franchise's ABA-era survival?

San Antonio was one of only four ABA teams to survive the 1976 merger, alongside Denver, Indiana and the Nets, and is one of just two former ABA franchises to win an NBA title. That habit of outlasting bigger threats echoes in the Thunder series: the Spurs upset the defending champion Oklahoma City in the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals, then beat them again in a seven-game Western Conference finals to reach last season's NBA Finals.

Can a deep rookie class turn into a Robinson-style jump?

Robinson's 1989-90 arrival produced a 56-26 record and a division title, the biggest one-season turnaround in the league's history. This year's rookie class runs six deep - Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant, David Jones Garcia, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Taelon Peter and Jayden Quaintance - but none has played a game that counts yet, so no verdict is possible before camp turns into results.

Does the River Walk still fit a team built to win now?

Title parades have run as boat trips down the River Walk after each of the franchise's five championships, most recently in 2014. San Antonio reached the NBA Finals last season, dropping the first two games to the Knicks, winning Game 3 - the most-watched Finals Game 3 since 1998 - then losing the last two. The parade route is proven; the Spurs have not needed it since 2014.

The verdictThe franchise's pattern of top picks reshaping the roster and systems outlasting any one star sets real context for this camp group, but nothing about this season is written until the games begin.

When did the Spurs last win an NBA championship?

2014, the fifth title of the Popovich-era run that spanned David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

How far did the Spurs go last season?

San Antonio reached the 2026 NBA Finals and lost to the Knicks in five games after winning Game 3.