1993–94 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1993–94 San Antonio Spurs season was the 18th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 27th season as a franchise.^[1] It was also their first season playing at the Alamodome. During the off-season, the Spurs acquired controversial All-Star forward and rebound specialist Dennis Rodman from the Detroit Pistons,^[2][3][4] signed free agent Sleepy Floyd,^[5][6] and acquired Negele Knight from the Phoenix Suns during the first month of the regular season.

With the addition of Rodman and Knight, the Spurs struggled with a 4–5 start to the regular season, but then posted an eight-game winning streak between November and December afterwards, and later on held a 35–14 record at the All-Star break.^[7] The team posted a 13-game winning streak between January and February, but lost seven of their final ten games of the season. The Spurs finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 55–27 record, and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[8]

David Robinson captured the scoring title averaging 29.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Dale Ellis averaged 15.2 points per game and led the Spurs with 131 three-point field goals, while Willie Anderson provided the team with 11.9 points and 4.3 assists per game, and Vinny Del Negro contributed 10.0 points and 4.2 assists per game. Off the bench, Knight provided with 9.3 points and 3.1 assists per game, while J.R. Reid contributed 9.0 points per game, Terry Cummings averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and Rodman, who was the team's starting power forward, contributed 4.7 points and 17.3 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.^[9]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Robinson was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team,^[10][11][12] while Ellis participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the fifth time.^[13][14] Robinson finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets, while Rodman finished tied in eleventh place;^[15][16] Robinson also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, also behind Olajuwon, with Rodman finishing in sixth place;^[17][16] Rodman also finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[18][16]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Spurs won Game 1 over the Jazz at home, 106–89 at the Alamodome,^[19][20][21] but then lost Game 2 at home, 96–84; in Game 2, Rodman had committed a flagrant foul on Stockton, and was suspended for Game 3.^[22][23][24] The Spurs lost Game 4 to the Jazz on the road, 95–90 at the Delta Center, thus losing the series in four games.^[25][26][27]

The Spurs finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind the Charlotte Hornets, with an attendance of 904,190 at the Alamodome during the regular season.^[9][28] Following the season, head coach John Lucas departed for a job as coach and General Manager for the Philadelphia 76ers,^[29][30] while Ellis signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets,^[31][32][33] Floyd re-signed with the New Jersey Nets,^[34][35] and Antoine Carr signed with the Utah Jazz.^[36][37]

Three notable highlights for the Spurs occurred during the regular season. On February 17, 1994, Robinson recorded a quadruple-double of 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks in a 115–96 home win over the Detroit Pistons at the Alamodome.^[38][39][40] On the final day of the regular season on April 24, Robinson scored a career-high of 71 points in a 112–97 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.^[41][42][43] On March 19, Ellis became the first player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career three-point field-goals, as he hit his 1,000 three-pointer in a 107–100 home win over the Sacramento Kings.^[44][45][46]