The San Antonio Spurs have a rather extraordinary championship pedigree despite being a relatively young NBA franchise.
Since their inaugural season in 1967-68 (then as the Dallas Chaparrals before moving to San Antonio in 1973-74), the Spurs have won five championships — all in a 15-year window between 1999-2014. The run was overseen by head coach Gregg Popovich, who remains the team’s president of basketball operations.
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The first title, which came during the lockout-shortened season, was in ’99 against the Knicks, who have returned to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years to face the Spurs again this season.
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With the NBA Finals beginning Wednesday, June 3, here’s a look at the Spurs’ championship history:
When was the last time the Spurs won a championship?
In 2014, San Antonio won the championship by beating Miami in four out of five games.
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The Spurs won the final three games by at least 17 points, effectively ending the Miami career of LeBron James (who returned to Cleveland in the middle of his record run of eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances).
Kawhi Leonard was named MVP of the series after averaging 17.8 points per game with 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks. Parker, Duncan and Ginobili also averaged double figures in scoring for the series.
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When was the last time the Spurs were in the NBA Finals?
It was also in 2014. After the championship nucleus of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili retired, the Spurs went through a playoff drought of six seasons from 2019-25.
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San Antonio returned to the postseason this year behind superstar Victor Wembanyama, who immediately led the team to the NBA Finals during his playoff debut in his third season.
How many championships do the Spurs have?
Five, and here’s the breakdown:
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1999: 4-1 over the New York Knicks; MVP: Tim Duncan
San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals history
The Spurs are 5-1 in the NBA Finals. The only loss came in 2013 when they fell 4-3 to the Miami Heat, which staved off elimination in a Game 6 win by forcing overtime with a 3-pointer by Ray Allen with 5.2 seconds left.
1999 NBA Finals: Knicks vs Spurs
In their first meeting 27 years ago, the Spurs won the championship in five games over the Knicks.
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San Antonio, which had an NBA-best 37-13 record in a 50-game regular season shortened by a lockout, entered as the favorite over New York, which barely made the playoffs as the East’s eighth seed with a 27-23 record.
San Antonio marched to the NBA Finals with an 11-1 record, defeating Minnesota 3-1, the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 and the Portland Trail Blazers 4-0.
New York had a tougher road, escaping with a 3-2 first-round win over Miami on a clutch jumper by Allan Houston, and then advancing past Atlanta 4-0 and Indiana 4-2.
The Spurs opened the NBA Finals with consecutive double-digit victories at the Alamodome. The Knicks won 89-91 in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
The Spurs closed it out with two wins in a row. Duncan scored 31 points in a 78-77 clinching victory in Game 5.
Knicks vs Spurs head-to-head history, record
The Knicks are 2-1 against the Spurs this season, including a 124-113 victory to win the NBA Cup on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.
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San Antonio won 134-132 at home on Dec. 31 behind 36 points by Julian Champagnie. In Madison Square Garden on March 1, New York won 114-89 with 25 points from Mikal Bridges and 24 from Jalen Brunson (snapping an 11-game winning streak for the Spurs).
In regular-season meetings, there have been 107 games between the Knicks and Spurs, who lead the series 60-47.
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