1987–88 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1987–88 San Antonio Spurs season was the 12th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season as a franchise.^[1] This season was most memorable when the Spurs won the NBA draft lottery, and selected 7' 1" center David Robinson from the United States Naval Academy with the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft; the team also selected center Greg "Cadillac" Anderson from the University of Houston with the 23rd overall pick.^[2][3][4] However, Robinson had a two-year commitment to the U.S. Navy after graduating from the Naval Academy, and would not play for the Spurs until the 1989–90 season.^[5][6][7] In November, the team traded second-year forward Larry Krystkowiak to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Charles Davis; Krystkowiak previous played overseas in Italy early into the regular season, and was placed on the Spurs' suspended list for violating his contract. Davis would later on be released to free agency after 16 games with the Spurs.^[8][9][10]

With the addition of Anderson, the Spurs got off to a 13–12 start to the regular season, but played below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, holding an 18–23 record at the All-Star break.^[11] The team struggled in the second half of the season, losing 9 of their 13 games in February, and posting a seven-game losing streak in March. Despite finishing in fifth place in the Midwest Division with a 31–51 record, which was ten games under .500, the Spurs earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference, and qualified for the NBA playoffs.^[12][13]

Alvin Robertson averaged 19.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 3.0 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while second-year forward Walter Berry averaged 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and Frank Brickowski provided the team with 16.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In addition, second-year guard Johnny Dawkins provided with 15.8 points, 7.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while Mike Mitchell contributed 13.5 points per game, and Anderson averaged 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Meanwhile, Dave Greenwood provided with 8.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, but only played just 45 games due to a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon,^[14][12] Jon Sundvold contributed 8.1 points and 3.5 assists per game, Kurt Nimphius averaged 4.4 points per game, and Ed Nealy provided with 2.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.^[15]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Robertson was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team,^[16][17][18] while Anderson participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[19][20] Robertson also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[21][22] while Brickowski finished tied in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[22] and Anderson finished tied in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Mark Jackson of the New York Knicks.^[23][22]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Pacific Division title, and were led by the quartet of All-Star guard Magic Johnson, All-Star forward James Worthy, Byron Scott and All-Star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Spurs lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Great Western Forum, before losing Game 3 at home, 109–107 at the HemisFair Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.^[24][25][26] The Lakers would go on to defeat the Detroit Pistons in a full seven-game series in the 1988 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^[27][28][29]

The Spurs finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 334,354 at the HemisFair Arena during the regular season, which was 23rd in the league.^[15][30] Following the season, head coach Bob Weiss was fired,^[31][32][33] while Berry was traded to the New Jersey Nets,^[34][35][36] Sundvold was left unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Miami Heat expansion team,^[37][38][39] and Mitchell and Nealy were both released to free agency.