The Spurs, playing with 9 new players, struggled early as they missed the presence of David Robinson while the new players struggled to fit in, as they held a 9 – 10 record on December 3.

They struggled down the stretch in many of those defeats, and the Spurs quickly found themselves far behind the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns.

He struggled to establish himself during his three year stint at Spurs and, in 2001, spent two months on loan to Bradford City, where he made 13 appearances and scored one goal against Watford.

Banks played well, but with the right back Len Chalmers carrying an injury, was powerless to prevent second half goals from Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson giving Spurs a 2 – 0 win and the first " double " of the 20th century.

He finally collected an English piece of silverware when he won the 1991 FA Cup Final with Spurs, who beat Nottingham Forest 2 – 1.

Since the breakup of the Chicago Bulls championship roster in the summer of 1998, the Western Conference has dominated, with the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs combining to win the title in nine of fourteen years.

Tim Duncan and David Robinson won the 1999 championship with the Spurs, and Shaquille O ' Neal and Kobe Bryant started the 2000s with three consecutive championships for the Lakers.

The Lakers / Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with a four-game sweep by the Spurs over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by LeBron James.

Following the Lakers are the Chicago Bulls with six championships, all of them over an 8-year span during the 1990s, and the San Antonio Spurs with four championships, all since 1999.

Alf was also a supporter of West Ham United ( a football club based in the East End ) and known to make derogatory remarks about " the Jews up at Spurs " ( referring to Tottenham Hotspur, a North London club with a sizeable Jewish following ).

He played a big part in another FA Cup triumph the following year, but did not play in the final because it had already been arranged with the Spurs management that he would leave early to join up with Argentina's 1982 World Cup squad.

Image of the Battle of the Golden Spurs, showing men with falchions

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.

Duncan opted to remain with the San Antonio Spurs, the Magic acquired Hill, a perennial All-Star, and McGrady.

Derrick Rose was injured for most of the 2011 – 12 NBA season ; however, the team was still able to finish with a 50 – 16 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year and the best overall record in the NBA ( tied with the San Antonio Spurs ).

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.

The Big Three gradually disbanded with Nash returning to the Phoenix Suns in 2004, and Finley picked up off waivers by the Spurs in 2005.

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.

The Nuggets were one of four ABA teams taken into the NBA, along with the New York Nets, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers for the 1976 – 77 NBA season.

However, chemistry would be an issue, as the Nuggets finished the season with the 6 seed, giving them a first round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.

Spurs players are active members of the San Antonio community, and many former Spurs are still active in San Antonio, like David Robinson with the Carver Academy and George Gervin with the George Gervin Youth Center.

Ferdinand helped Spurs win the League Cup in 1999, defeating Leicester City 1 – 0 in the final at Wembley, but injuries restricted him to just 12 goals in his first three seasons at the club.

On 20 November, as a result of injuries to regular captains Ledley King and Michael Dawson, Gallas captained Tottenham for the first time against his former club Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in a famous 3 – 2 Tottenham victory, Spurs ' first league victory at Arsenal since 1993.

Stevens left Spurs for Portsmouth in 1990 but persistent injuries forced him to retire in 1992.

It was a similar story in 1985-86, as he was restricted again by injuries, and this time Spurs slumped to mid table and manager Peter Shreeves was sacked in favour of Luton Town boss David Pleat.

A spate of injuries at Charlton led to Konchesky being recalled from Spurs in December 2003, when he also came off the transfer list.

He was the subject of transfer talk during the 2006 close season but remained at Spurs following a series of injuries to other defenders in pre-season.

" The Spurs have consistently posted winning road records during this period, including an NBA-record longest single road trip winning streak ( 8 games out of 9, achieved in 2003 ).

Despite a respectable 17 – 10 start during the 1974 – 75 season, Coach Tom Nissalke was fired as owners become tired of the Spurs ' slow defensive style of games.

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.

Although there was some initial skepticism in league circles regarding the potential success and talent levels of the incoming ABA teams, the Spurs would prove worthy of NBA inclusion during the 1976 – 77 season with a record of 44 – 38, good for a tie for fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference.

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 ).

The lone bright spot during this period was the Spurs being awarded the top pick in the 1987 NBA draft through NBA Draft Lottery.

Few observers could have predicted how far the Spurs would fall during the 1996 – 97 season, especially with the signing of Dominique Wilkins.

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.

The long-term viability of the Spurs franchise in San Antonio was, however, achieved during the 1999 – 2000 season, as Bexar County voters approved increases on car rental and hotel taxes which would allow for the construction of a new arena next to the Freeman Coliseum.

The Spurs finished with 58 – 24 records for both the 2000 – 01 and 2001 – 02 seasons but found themselves suffering playoff ousters in both seasons from the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, getting swept from the 2001 Conference Finals and losing in five games during the 2002 second round.

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 ).

( Until this season, the Spurs and Indiana Pacers shared the NBA's longest active consecutive playoff appearance streak with nine in a row, though San Antonio has qualified for its 10th consecutive appearance during the 2006 – 07 season, while Indiana's playoff streak ended.

In fact, the Spurs were, during this period, a mere 1. 5 games ahead of the third-place Houston Rockets in the Southwest Division.

Unaccustomed to struggling during the regular season, the Spurs were frustrated.

With quiet determination, the Spurs spent the rest of the season flying under the radar, winning thirteen games in a row during February and March.

After the lockout, the Spurs signed T. J. Ford, who would eventually retire in the middle of the season after playing only 14 games due to a stinger after being elbowed by Baron Davis during a game against the New York Knicks on March 7, 2012.

In the week following the trade deadline, the Spurs also signed forward Boris Diaw after Diaw's contract was bought out by the Charlotte Bobcats, and former Portland Trail Blazers guard Patrick Mills who played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the CBA during the lockout.

The Spurs sported the simple rounded black and white lettered uniforms during much of the 1980s.

For example, the Scots used a spear formation known as the schiltron in several battles during the Wars of Scottish Independence including the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, and the Flemings used their geldon long spear to absorb the attack of French knights at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, before other troops in the Flemish formation counterattacked the stalled knights with Goedendags.

He received the actual award from NBA commissioner David Stern during a pregame ceremony at the Nuggets first home 2006 – 07 playoff game, which was against the San Antonio Spurs on April 28, 2007.

The weapon was used to great effect by the guildsmen of Flanders ' wealthy cities against the French knights during the Guldensporenslag or Battle of the Golden Spurs near Kortrijk ( Courtrai ) on 11 July 1302 ; however, on account of superior but more expensive alternatives, it saw limited service from the fifteenth century on, being used exclusively by the Flemish " burgers ".

He is also the only person ever to coach two NBA franchises in the same season ( San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers during the 1991-92 NBA season ).