1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season

• 1. Introduction

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  The 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs season ended with Avery Johnson hitting a long two-pointer from the corner with 47 seconds left in Game 5, giving San Antonio a one-point lead and its first NBA championship in franchise history. But to understand how a team that started the year 6-8 ended up champions, you have to go back to a season that nearly didn't happen at all, a lockout that shrank the schedule from 82 games to just 50, and a young power forward named Tim Duncan who was about to introduce himself to the entire basketball world. How did a second-year player anchor a championship run? How did a roster rebuilt in the offseason find its footing after a rocky start? And what exactly happened on Memorial Day in San Antonio that people still talk about today?

• 2. A Shortened Stage

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  The regular season began on the 5th of February, 1999, more than two months later than usual, the result of a labor dispute that wiped out the early portion of the schedule. That compressed calendar gave teams no room for gradual improvement. San Antonio opened at home against Sacramento on that February debut, with Tim Duncan scoring 19 points and pulling down 17 rebounds in front of 19,002 fans at the Alamodome.

  The Spurs spent that shortened February going 6-8, stumbling through a stretch that included road losses in Cleveland and at the Los Angeles Lakers. The new offseason additions were finding their footing. Antonio Daniels had come over from the Vancouver Grizzlies in a trade for Carl Herrera and draft pick Felipe Lopez. Steve Kerr, a three-point specialist who had won three consecutive titles with the Chicago Bulls, arrived via free agency along with veteran wings Mario Elie and Jerome Kersey.

  March told a different story. San Antonio ripped off a nine-game winning streak that transformed the team's standing in the Western Conference. Duncan scored 34 points at Denver on the 7th of March, then 29 at Sacramento, then 28 at Denver again. The Spurs finished the season winning five straight, posting a final record of 37-13 in those 50 games. The front office later noted that record was roughly equivalent to 61-21 over a full 82-game schedule, and it was the best mark in the entire NBA.

• 3. Twin Towers

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  Duncan averaged 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game in his second professional season. He was named to the All-NBA First Team and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. That placed him alongside a center who had been one of the league's premier players for more than a decade.

  David Robinson averaged 15.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. Playing those 49 games at center while Duncan operated from the power forward spot, the two gave San Antonio a frontcourt combination that opposing offenses struggled to navigate. Robinson finished twelfth in MVP voting and fourth in Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

  Duncan himself finished third in MVP voting, behind Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz and Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat. Head coach Gregg Popovich finished tied for sixth in Coach of the Year voting. Sean Elliott contributed 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Avery Johnson ran the offense with 9.7 points and 7.4 assists. The depth pieces held their own too: Jaren Jackson averaged 6.4 points per game off the bench, and Malik Rose added 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Kerr contributed 4.4 points per game across 44 games.

• 4. The Memorial Day Miracle

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  San Antonio swept the Minnesota Timberwolves in four games in the first round of the playoffs, winning at home 99-86 in Game 1 before dropping Game 2 80-71, then taking both road games to close the series. Kevin Garnett, Terrell Brandon, and Joe Smith could not sustain the upset threat.

  The second round brought the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Glen Rice. The Spurs won the first two games at the Alamodome, then swept both road games at the Great Western Forum, including a 118-107 win in Game 4. Duncan scored 37 points in Game 3 at the Forum and 33 in Game 4. The four-game sweep moved San Antonio to the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.

  Portland were the second seed and Pacific Division champions, with Rasheed Wallace, Isaiah Rider, and Damon Stoudamire. Game 1 went to San Antonio 80-76 at the Alamodome. Game 2 turned into the moment that defined the playoff run. The Spurs trailed by 17 points. Then, in the fourth quarter, San Antonio mounted a comeback that ended with Sean Elliott catching the ball in the corner and drilling a three-pointer to win 86-85. The shot became known as the "Memorial Day Miracle." The Spurs then swept the next two road games, winning Game 4 at the Rose Garden Arena 94-80, making San Antonio the first former ABA franchise ever to advance to the NBA Finals.

• 5. Five Games in June

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  The Knicks had arrived in the Finals as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, the first eighth seed to ever reach that stage. Patrick Ewing, their All-Star center, had ruptured his Achilles tendon during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers and was out for the series. New York still had Allan Houston and sixth man Latrell Sprewell.

  Game 1 drew 39,514 fans to the Alamodome on the 16th of June, and the Spurs won 89-77. Game 2 drew 39,554, the largest crowd in NBA Finals history at that point, and San Antonio won again, 80-67. Duncan scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Game 1, then added 25 points and 15 rebounds in Game 2.

  New York won Game 3 at Madison Square Garden 89-81 to keep the series alive. Duncan scored 28 and grabbed 18 in Game 4 as San Antonio won 96-89 to move within one victory. Game 5 came down to Johnson's shot from the corner with 47 seconds remaining, giving the Spurs a 78-77 edge they would not relinquish. Duncan was named Finals MVP. The championship was the first in the franchise's 32-year history as a professional team.

  Kerr, who had won his previous three rings with the Bulls from 1996 to 1998, became the first non-Celtic to win four consecutive NBA championships.

• 6. Records and Aftermath

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  The Spurs finished second in the entire NBA in home-game attendance during the regular season, drawing 527,357 fans to the Alamodome. Only the Chicago Bulls drew more. The crowd figures from the Finals games at the Alamodome, 39,514 and 39,554, stand as records for an NBA Finals game.

  Not everything connected to the season was straightforward. Kersey shot only .340 from the field across his 45 games. The Spurs' route through the playoffs drew scrutiny; in 2024, HoopsHype listed this San Antonio squad as having the 24th easiest path to an NBA Finals championship, citing the opponents they faced in the first round and in the Finals specifically.

  Following the championship, Will Perdue re-signed with his former team, the Chicago Bulls, as a free agent. The season also produced a historical first that would take years to replicate: the distinction of becoming the first former ABA franchise to win the NBA title. The Denver Nuggets would later duplicate the feat of reaching the Finals, though the source does not record when.