After the 1984 – 85 season, Gervin, who arguably had been the Spurs ' biggest star, was traded to the Chicago Bulls in what effectively signaled the end of the era that began when the Spurs first moved to San Antonio.

The Spurs began the 1990s with great optimism.

In January the Spurs began to gel and seemed prepped to make a run, when they embarked on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, a nine-game road trip from January 25 to February 16.

However, it would be hardly a bump in the road for the charging Spurs, who won 8 of the 9 and began to climb their way to first place.

Trade rumors began swirling around the Spurs.

With that streak, the Spurs began climbing back up in the Western Conference standings.

The Spurs began their off-season after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Western Conference Finals 4-2, and entered the 2012 NBA Draft with the second to the last pick, their only pick of the draft.

The Spurs wear black sneakers and socks on the road, and white sneakers and socks at home, a practice that began in the 2002 – 03 season.

Before the 2003 – 04 season began, the Spurs lost their perennial captain David Robinson to retirement.

Spurs began the 2002 – 03 season in fine form and Hoddle was named Premiership Manager of the Month for August 2002 after they ended the month top of the league.

He began the following campaign in stunning form, scoring twice in games against Southampton, Everton and his former club Spurs.

Horry went on to be a key member of the Rockets ' title teams and began to lay the foundations for his " Big Shot Rob " reputation with a game-winning jumper in the final seconds of Game 1 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals vs. the San Antonio Spurs and adding a crucial basket in a 106-103 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic.

Defoe began Tottenham's FA Cup campaign with a crisply-taken brace of goals in the Third Round match at home to Charlton Athletic on 9 January 2011, Spurs winning 3 – 0, but in the following round they were defeated at Fulham.

He gave a strong performance against Wigan Athletic in November 2006, scoring one and creating the other two in a 3 – 1 win for Spurs, and began to score regularly.

After playing in the Alberta Midget Hockey League ( AMHL ) with the Calgary Royals in 1981 – 82, Murzyn began his junior career with the Calgary Spurs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League ( AJHL ).

As Spurs games began regularly selling out, the roof of arena was literally raised and lifted during the summer of 1977, adding an upper deck at the facility and allowing for a capacity of over 16, 057.

Hedman began training with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on 5 January 2009, with a view to gaining a contract with Spurs until at least the end of the 2008 – 09 season, of which he did not achieve.

When the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, Karl began his two-year NBA playing career.

The 66ers began when the Salinas Spurs moved to San Bernardino and bought the name of the San Bernardino Spirit from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes who had just left town.

In 2004, he began doing part-time local television work for the San Antonio Spurs.

Bartlett began his career with his hometown Cape Town Spurs and then moved to Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids in the league's inaugural season in 1996.

NBC's coverage of the NBA began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of their inaugural season ( which featured a November game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs ), the 1998-99 season ( no Christmas games played due to the lockout ) and their final season ( which included two early season games featuring the return of Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards ).

The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum.

The Flemish footmen at the Battle of the Golden Spurs met and overcame French knights in 1302, and the Scots held their own against heavily armored English invaders.

The San Antonio Spurs won their first championship, and first by a former ABA team, by beating the New York Knicks, who were the first, and to this date, the only, eighth seed to ever make the NBA Finals.

After the Spurs took home the Larry O ' Brien Championship Trophy in 2005, the 2006 Finals featured two franchises making their inaugural Finals appearances.

Although they finished January with 10 wins and 5 losses, they had already lost to the defending Champions San Antonio Spurs twice, twice to the Phoenix Suns, and in a nationally televised broadcast lost by 36 points to their eventual opponent in the 2006 NBA Finals the Dallas Mavericks.

In the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994, the Pistons lost a hard-fought game with the Spurs, who won their third NBA championship since 1999.

However the San Antonio Spurs would emerge as their main rivals, defeating them in the playoffs each time.

Nowitzki emerged as the team's leader, and with Avery Johnson coaching the team, the Mavericks would make their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006 ; along the way exacting revenge against the Spurs and defeating Steve Nash and the Suns.

In their 36 NBA seasons since 1976 – 1977, the Spurs have captured 18 division titles.

With their 50th win in the 2011-2012 season, the Spurs currently hold the record for most consecutive 50 + win seasons at 13.

The owners of the Spirits of St. Louis received a portion of all television profits during their NBA tenure, which amounts to roughly 1 / 7 of the Spurs ' television profit every year.

The Spurs would have to wait another 20 years to make it to their first NBA finals.

The Spurs would go on to capture 5 division titles in their first 7 years in the NBA and became a perennial playoff participant.

As the 1980s progressed, the Spurs would see their shares of highs and lows.

For the first few seasons of the decade, the Spurs continued their success of the 1970s with records of 52 – 30 in 1980 – 81, 48 – 34 in 1981 – 82, and 53 – 29 in 1982 – 83 ( it was during this period that the Spurs were moved to the Western Conference ).

Despite their regular season success, the Spurs were unable to win any NBA championships, losing in the Western Conference playoffs to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 1981 and the Los Angeles Lakers in in 4 games 1982 and in 6 games in the 1983 Western Finals despite getting both wins at the Forum in the 1983 series.

The Spurs used their pick to select Wake Forest University product and consensus All-American Tim Duncan.

Coming off their first NBA Championship, the Spurs were still among the best teams in the West and battling for first place in the Midwest Division during the 1999 – 2000 season.

Entering the 2002 – 03 season, the team knew it would be memorable for at least two reasons, as David Robinson announced that it would be his last in the NBA and the Spurs would begin play at their new arena, the SBC Center, named after telecommunications giant SBC, whose corporate headquarters were located in San Antonio ( SBC became AT & T after its acquisition of its former parent company ).

To mark this occasion, the Spurs revamped their " Fiesta Colors " logo and reverted to the familiar silver and black motif ( though, during the time of the Fiesta logo, the uniform remained silver and black ).

Image: Spurs_White_House. jpg | 330px | The Spurs visit the White House after their championship in 2003 .| left | thumb

rect 0 0 515 331 The Spurs visit the White House after their championship in 2003.

After splitting their first two games on the road, the Spurs christened the SBC Center in style on November 1 by beating the Toronto Raptors 91 – 72.