The

1997–98 NBA season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in ...

was the 22nd season for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, and their 31st season as a franchise. This season is most memorable when the Spurs selected power forward

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

out of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

with the first overall pick in the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto R ...

. After finishing with the third-worst record in 1996–97, the Spurs won the

NBA draft lottery The NBA draft lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA), in which the teams who had missed the playoffs the previous year participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order in the NBA draft. The NBA d ...

, dubbed as the "Tim Duncan Sweepstakes". During the off-season, the team signed free agents, three-point specialist

Jaren Jackson Jaren Walter Jackson Sr. (born October 27, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals of the Southland Conference. A shooting guard born in New Orleans, Louis ...

, and second-year forward

Malik Rose Malik Jabari Rose (born November 23, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Rose played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning championships with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999 and 2003. Early life a ...

. The Spurs got off to a mediocre 10–10 start to the regular season, but then won 17 of their next 19 games, and held a 34–14 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing

Sean Elliott Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career a ...

for the remainder of the season to a knee injury after 36 games, the Spurs finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 56–26 record, earned the #5 seed in the Western Conference, and returned to the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

after a one-year absence. The Spurs had the second best team defensive rating in the NBA. Duncan averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and was named the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

, and was also named to the

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

, and to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

, while

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

averaged 21.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, and was named to the

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

. In addition,

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator, former player and coach who previously served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is an NBA and college basketball ana ...

provided the team with 10.2 points and 7.9 assists per game, while

Vinny Del Negro Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the head coach of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. ...

contributed 9.5 points per game, and Elliott provided with 9.3 points per game. Off the bench, Jackson contributed 8.8 points per game and led the Spurs with 112 three-point field goals, while three-point specialist

Chuck Person Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. Person played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year. Person played college basketball for the ...

contributed 6.7 points per game, and

Will Perdue William Edward Perdue III (born August 29, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of four NBA championship teams, three with the Chicago Bulls (1991–1993) and ...

averaged 5.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Both Duncan and Robinson were named to the

NBA All-Defensive Second Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

, and selected for the

1998 NBA All-Star Game The 1998 NBA All-Star Game was the 48th edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game. The event was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The East won the game 135–114. Besides the NBA All-Star game, there were t ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, which was Duncan's first ever All-Star appearance. Duncan finished in fifth place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting, while Robinson finished in seventh place; Robinson also finished in third place in

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

voting, while Duncan finished tied in fifth place. In the

1998 NBA playoffs The 1998 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997–98 season. The tournament concluded with the two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Weste ...

, the Spurs defeated the 4th-seeded

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, 3–1 in the Western Conference First Round, but lost 4–1 to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Jazz would go on to lose in six games to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the

1998 NBA Finals The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1997–98 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls ...

for the second consecutive year. Following the season, Del Negro signed as a free agent with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, while Person signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

Monty Williams Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who is the head coach of the TMI Episcopal’s boys basketball team. He pre ...

was released to free agency, and

Carl Herrera Carl Víctor Herrera Alleyne (born December 14, 1966) is a retired Trinidadian-born Venezuelan basketball player. A power forward, he was part of the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association championship teams of the mid-1990s. He was th ...

was traded to the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

. Following the 1997–98 season, the Spurs enjoyed immense levels of success, winning five championships between

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and qualifying for the playoffs every year until

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the longest playoff streak in NBA history, tied with the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers from

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Tim Duncan

The Spurs were coming off a poor

1996–97 NBA season The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league used this season to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particu ...

; in which their best player,

—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. However, as the

approached, the Spurs were considered a notable threat in the NBA. With both an experienced

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in Robinson and the number one pick in Duncan, the Spurs featured one of the best

frontcourt Basketball is a sport with five players on the court for each team at a time. Each player is assigned to different positions defined by the strategic role they play. Guard, forward and center are the three main position categories. The standard ...

s 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

power forward

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

, a multiple rebounding champion and

NBA Defensive Player of the Year The NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and b ...

. Later, when Duncan played against opposing

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Hall-of-Fame power forward

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

, Barkley was so impressed he said: "I have seen the future and he wears number 21 uncan's jersey number" 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

and was also named

. Spurs coach

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball executive and former coach who is the president for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the List of current NBA head co ...

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." 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."

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 23 , @ Phoenix
W 102–96
,

(32) ,

(15) ,

(6) ,

America West Arena The PHX Arena (formerly America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena and Footprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It opened under the name America West Arena on June 6, 1992, at ...

19,023 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 25 , @ Phoenix
L 101–108
,

(23) ,

(16) ,

(8) ,

19,023 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 27 , Phoenix
W 100–88
,

(22) ,

(14) ,

(5) ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

20,486 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , April 29 , Phoenix
W 99–80
,

(30) ,

(21) ,

(7) ,

27,528 , 3–1 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , May 5 , @

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

L 82–83
,

(33) ,

(16) ,

(8) ,

Delta Center The Delta Center is an indoor venue in Salt Lake City. Opened in 1991, the arena is the home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena has a seating capacity ...

19,911 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 7 , @

L 106–109
,

(26) ,

(14) ,

(5) ,

19,911 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 9 ,

W 86–64
,

(21) ,

(11) ,

(5) ,

26,086 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 10 ,

L 73–82
,

(22) ,

(11) ,

(7) ,

28,587 , 1–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 12 , @

L 77–87
,

(21) ,

(13) ,

(8) ,

19,911 , 1–4 , -

Player statistics

Ragular season

Playoffs

Award winners

, Forward,

, Forward, All-NBA Rookie First Team *

, Forward, All-NBA Second Defensive Team *

, Center,

, Center, All-NBA Second Defensive Team

Transactions

References

*
San Antonio Spurs on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 San Antonio Spurs Season San Antonio Spurs seasons San

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...