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July 2010

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May

17

5-17-1987: Spurs Win David Robinson Lottery

Filed Under On This Day . . ., Loose Balls

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With the exception of the Chicago Bulls’ six championship teams and the Detroit Pistons’ 2004 championship squad, most NBA title winners have centered on having a dominant big man.

The San Antonio Spurs know this equation better than anyone else as their four championships have been made possible in large part by two of the greatest big men in NBA history, David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

San Antonio landed both Robinson and Duncan by having great lottery luck after suffering through miserable seasons.

Twenty-two years ago today, the San Antonio Spurs were coming off a 28-54 record when they won the 1987 NBA Draft Lottery.

The 1987 NBA Draft was all about selecting one person, Navy center Robinson, who did not start playing organized basketball until late in his high school career.

As a senior in high school, Robinson was only 6′7”. By the time he arrived at Navy, he was 6′9”. By his senior season, he had grown to be more than 7 feet tall.

After leading Navy to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances as a junior and senior, including a deep run to the Elite Eight in 1986 and a first-round loss in 1987 to Michigan in which he scored 50 points, Robinson was a Naismith and Wooden award winner considered to be a lock for the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Of course, the team that drafted Robinson would have to wait two years for him to come to the league as part of his commitment to the Naval Service.

The Spurs were happy to have to wait for Robinson, who arrived in 1989-1990 with first-round draft pick Sean Elliot of Arizona.

That Spurs team would push the eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers to seven games in a 1990 second-round series.

As one of the top centers in the league, Robinson would lead the Spurs to playoff appearances in his first seven seasons.

In 1995, he won the MVP after a magnificent regular season in which he scored 71 points in the final game of the season to secure the league scoring title.

However, Robinson’s awesome 1994-1995 Spurs would be upset in the Western Conference Finals to Hakeem Olajuwon and the defending champion Houston Rockets.

Playing the best basketball of his career, Olajuwon proved unstoppable for Robinson, a distracted Dennis Rodman and a Spurs team that looked like it had what it takes to win a title.

Robinson’s career would forever change in the 1996-1997 season when he suffered a back injury that sidelined him for most of the year and sent the Spurs into a 20-62 spiral.

However, the Spurs would get lucky once again in the draft lottery. Ten years after landing Robinson, the Spurs were able to surpass the ‘97 lottery favorites, the Boston Celtics, and secure the first overall pick.

In simple terms, the 1997 NBA Draft was about one person, Wake Forest senior center Duncan, and then little else.

Of course, the Spurs would select Duncan and set themselves up with the NBA’s latest “Twin Towers” duo.

While still a great player, Robinson would be even better as a mentor for Duncan in his first season.

In their second season together, Robinson the elder statesman and Duncan the young superstar would lead the Spurs to the franchise’s first title, a 4-1 win against the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals.

Four years later, the Spurs would send the retiring Robinson out in grand style with another title after a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Nets in the 2003 NBA Finals.

Duncan and the Spurs have won two more titles since 2003, all the while with Robinson literally and figuratively remaining the team’s biggest and most visible fan.

Here’s a recap of Robinson and Duncan’s great seasons together.